Women’s health – articles and advice
Birth control
Features on women’s health, from menstrual health to menopause and beyond. For detailed reference, see our Patient Information Leaflets on women’s health.
Birth control
Birth control gives you choices about when to have children. Learn about the different methods, how they work, and which might suit you best.
- Does hormonal contraception affect fertility after you stop taking it?
- Which medications can affect your contraception?
- The pros and cons of female condoms
- Does the contraceptive pill increase your risk of blood clots?
- Secret shoppers: Are women given the best contraception advice?
- What's the future of contraception?
- Will we ever have a male contraceptive pill?
- How long to wait before your second baby
- Is it safe to skip your period on the pill?
- Should you consider the copper coil for emergency contraception?
- What to do about contraception after giving birth
- Does hormonal contraception affect your sex drive?
- Are fertility apps a reliable form of contraception?
- When will I become fertile again after coming off contraception?
- Do contraceptive pills change your behaviour?
- What is post-birth control syndrome?
- What happens when you come off the pill?
- Signs you're on the wrong contraceptive pill
- Can you prevent breakthrough bleeding on the pill?
- Which types of condoms are best for preventing pregnancy?
Long-acting reversible contraceptives
- Should you change your contraception to the coil or implant?
Hormone pills patches and rings
- Morning after pill myths debunked
- What to expect when you take the morning after pill
- Easy ways to get the pill: options beyond the GP surgery
Breast problems
Breast lumps, pain, or discharge can be worrying. Learn what’s normal, what needs checking, and how most breast changes are harmless.
- Anatomy of the breast
- What's causing your breast pain?
- Is your bra harming your health?
- Do you check your breasts?
- Why we need to talk about breast implant illness
- What to expect during a breast screening
Breast cancer
- How to cope with metastatic breast cancer
- What happens when you find out you’re BRCA positive?
- How to check your breasts for signs of cancer
- How to check for breast cancer and what a lump feels like
- Being a 'morning person' lowers risk of breast cancer
- Clinical Pilates: a support to breast cancer recovery
- What it's like to have breast cancer when you're a man
- Swap beef for chicken to reduce breast cancer risk, suggests study
- Personalised blood test detects return of breast cancer
- What it's like to be a breast surgeon with breast cancer
- Why we all need to be 'breast aware'
- Early breast cancer care
Fertility
Trying for a baby? Learn about factors that affect fertility in men and women, and when it may be time to seek help.
- How common is male infertility, and what causes it?
- How your lifestyle may be a cause of low sperm count
- Scientists develop sperm separation method for sex selection
- How an underactive thyroid affects fertility
- Do anabolic steroids cause infertility?
- Junk food diet linked to low sperm count
- Protecting your mental health during fertility treatment
- The truth about getting pregnant after 40
- The truth about egg freezing
- What not to say to someone experiencing infertility
- Does your ethnicity influence your fertility success?
- Why is egg freezing on the rise and is it safe?
Gynaecological cancer
Gynaecological cancers affect the reproductive organs. Discover the signs of ovarian, cervical, uterine and vulval cancers, and how early detection saves lives.
- How to get over smear test fear
- Can you be too old for a smear test?
- Do lesbian and bisexual women still need smear tests?
- Ovarian cancer symptoms diary
- Cervical cancer isn't funny, but laughing at it helped me cope
- Do you know the early signs of ovarian cancer?
- Smear test myths you need to stop believing
- Blood test may detect ovarian cancer two years earlier
- Women with physical disabilities denied access to smear tests
- What to expect during a LLETZ procedure for abnormal cells
- HPV vaccine could one day eliminate cervical cancer
- Women 'not warned' about side effects of treatment to remove precancerous cervical cells
- What an abnormal smear test result could mean
- Why you shouldn't skip your smear test
- Friendly' bacteria in the vagina could protect against ovarian cancer
- What to expect when you have a colposcopy
- What are the common myths and facts about cervical screening?
- What affects your chances of surviving cervical cancer?
- How to spot the warning signs of gynaecological cancer
- Cervical cancer signs and what to look for
Menopause and HRT
Menopause marks the end of menstrual cycles. Learn about symptoms like hot flushes and mood changes, and how hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help.
- Do herbal remedies for menopause really work?
- How to ease joint pain during the menopause
- Why can the menopause trigger anxiety?
- The truth about HRT
- How to ease your perimenopause symptoms
- How long do the symptoms of menopause last?
- Do you need a menopause check at 40?
- HRT: fact-checking risks and benefits
- How can you prevent osteoporosis during the menopause?
- What are the side-effects of HRT?
- How your periods change during perimenopause
- Why getting outdoors can support you through menopause
- How to support someone during the menopause
- Video: How do you know you're going through the menopause?
- What is abnormal uterine bleeding and when should I worry?
- How to make the menopause a little easier
- What's behind the HRT shortage in the UK?
- What it's like to go through early menopause
- How to have great sex during and after the menopause
- How does race affect menopause care?
- New operation could delay menopause by 20 years
- Testosterone can boost sexual desire after menopause
- How to manage skin problems at menopause
- What is postmenopausal depression?
- Does the menopause cause hair loss?
- The problem with 'bioidentical hormones' for menopause
- What it's like to go through the menopause when you have HIV
- Poor social life linked to bone loss in postmenopausal women
- Can blood tests help to manage menopause and HRT?
- How to alleviate your menopause sleep problems
- Will HRT for menopause soon be free over the counter?
- Should you be worried about postmenopausal bleeding?
- Looking after your health during the menopause
- Your diet and the menopause
- What you need to know about testosterone and menopause
- What's the link between menopause and cholesterol?
- Living with HRT
- What HRT did for me
- What causes menopause dizziness, and how can you manage it?
- What are the signs HRT is not working anymore?
- New insight into breast cancer risk after stopping HRT
- Are you going through the perimenopause?
Other women's health problems
Women face many health concerns beyond reproductive or hormonal issues. Learn about less common conditions and how to get advice and care when you need it.
- Pelvic pain: a woman's guide to common causes
- What's causing your lower abdominal pain?
- Why do women feel the cold more than men?
- Living with endometriosis - Keisha's story
- Breaking down the gender health gap
- Should vaginal mesh surgery be banned?
- Should you worry about pelvic pain in pregnancy?
- Is women's pain taken seriously?
- Can changing your diet ease endometriosis symptoms?
- What it’s like to have pelvic inflammatory disease
- Is adenomyosis the cause of your heavy, painful periods?
- 7 tips to help relieve endometriosis pain
Ovarian problems
Ovarian cysts, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and other issues can affect hormones and fertility. Learn about symptoms and treatment options.
Periods and period problems
Heavy bleeding, painful cramps or irregular cycles? Learn what’s normal, when to seek help, and how period problems are diagnosed and treated.
- How does your period impact your sleep?
- How to cope with a PCOS diagnosis
- Why are more young women losing their periods due to restrictive diets and excessive exercise?
- What causes heavy periods and abnormal vaginal bleeding?
- Should you exercise during period times?
- Is your PMS depression really PMDD?
- How to look after your mental health during your menstrual cycle
- How to get rid of period cramps
- How to alter your language around menstruation to be more inclusive
- How PCOS affects your mental health
- How much period pain is normal?
- Could your PMS be PMDD?
- What a missed period could mean if you're not pregnant
- Video: How much does PCOS affect fertility?
- Can changing your diet improve PMS?
- How to deal with your period at a festival
- Video: What is the best way to get rid of period pain?
- How to clean your menstrual cup
- How to have a more eco-friendly period
- First period - supporting your child when they start menstruation
- Is it normal to experience ovulation pain?
- How to delay your period - is it safe to take norethisterone?
- Are period blood clots normal?
- Painful periods cost women nine days of productivity every year
- Menstrual cups as safe and effective as pads and tampons
- Can menstrual cups help fight period poverty?
- Should you buy a menstrual cup? Eco-friendly period products
- Period blood loss chart
- Why you should be tracking your period
- What's the link between PCOS and diabetes?
- Period poverty: a public health crisis
- 8 common myths about PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)
- How to manage your period in school
- Could your period pain be endometriosis?
- Quiz: When will I get my first period?
Pregnancy
Pregnancy brings exciting but sometimes worrying changes. Learn what to expect, from early symptoms to antenatal care and preparing for birth.
Uterine problems
Conditions like fibroids or endometriosis affect the uterus. Learn about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options to manage discomfort and improve wellbeing.
Vaginal and vulval problems
Itching, dryness or pain can affect confidence. Learn about common vaginal and vulval health issues and when to speak to your doctor.
- Simple ways to help prevent vaginal thrush
- Vaginal ‘health gummies’ - Why the trend for improving our vaginas is harmful
- Bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy: What you need to know
- How life events and ageing can change your vagina
- What do normal labia look like?
- What is vulvar dermatitis?
- Is your lifestyle giving you thrush?
- What to do about lumps on the vagina or vulva
- How to talk to your doctor about your vagina
- Should you clean your vagina?
- Myths about the hymen debunked
- How to manage lichen sclerosus and genital itching
- What can cause a smelly vagina after sex?
- What your vaginal odour could mean
- What your vaginal discharge could be trying to tell you
- Thrush in pregnancy: what you can and can't do
- Understanding vaginal cysts
Women's sexual health
Women’s sexual health changes over time. Learn about conditions like vaginal dryness, pain during sex, and how to seek discreet help.
- How to orgasm more easily during sex
- The health benefits of sex toys
- The female reproductive system
- Can women take Viagra?
- What can cause low libido in women?
- The most likely causes of pain during sex
- Understanding vulvodynia and why it causes painful sex
- How to overcome vaginismus and relax your pelvic floor