Mrs T.’s baby had died shortly after birth. No abnormality of the baby had been expected antenatally. The family family planning doctor saw Mrs T. through the glass door of the single room she had been given, away from the ward full of flowers and babies. She was dressed and waiting to go home. The [...]
As already stated, a quarter of all infertility problems are due to sperm defect or dysfunction. The male factor also plays a part in the 6% of couples with coital problems. However, this latter figure does not include the secondary coital problems that arise as a result of investigations or treatments for the infertility. Thexton [...]
The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS, 1990) figures show that the majority of women having abortions are in their 20s and are single. These women are sexually active and fertile but may not be in a stable relationship, financially secure or established in a career. There is a mismatch between biological maturity and [...]
Younger patients are looking for a friendly place, with an atmosphere that is nonclinical and informal, in which to make their contraceptive consultation. They hope the staff will be welcoming and nonjudge-mental, but they also expect them to be well qualified, to have medical expertise and to be professional in their approach. Unfortunately, young people [...]
Women using contraception tend to blame the method for many symptoms that are clearly not related in any medical way. If simple explanation does not reassure the woman, it is important to listen further to try and understand what is going on in her mind. Mrs E., a regular clinic attender for years, came to [...]
In its commonest and most effective form the Pill contains the synthetically produced female hormones, oestrogen and progesterone. Because these two are combined in one pill it is called the ‘combined Pill’. The hormones these Pills contain are very similar to the natural ones produced by a woman’s body but are different enough to allow [...]
Anyone can copulate with a willing member of the opposite sex, as we saw earlier, but the act is not necessarily based upon an intimate knowledge of the sexuality of the partner and, although it can be exciting and gratifying, in reality it amounts to no more than masturbation using the genitals of the opposite [...]
The ovaries are paired organs about the size of walnuts lying one each side of the pelvis. They have two functions. First, they release a ripened egg each month and, second, they produce progesterone and oestrogen — two important female hormones. The ovaries are remarkable organs — when a baby girl is born she already [...]
Marriage, or any other close man-woman relationship, offers a whole range of wonderful options as a way of life. Provided expectations are not set too high and the couple keep their feet firmly on the ground, marriage can be a friendship; a source of attachment; an alliance against a hostile world; a source of companionship; [...]
1 One (or both) of the individuals is too immature in his or her personality development and simply is not ready to settle down. Such a person finds that he or she resents the thought of becoming linked to one person exclusively, talks a lot about the loss of freedom and wants to continue to [...]