#Womens Health

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#Womens Health

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p> Around four out of five breast cancers occur in women aged 50 and over. A third of all breast cancers are detected through the routine screening programme.</p>

columnists

Sarah Harte: Being proactive and vocal is key to women's health outcomes

After a scare of her own, Sarah Harte learns that women who miss their first breast cancer screening appointment are 40% more likely to die from the disease

<p>The matter was raised this with HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster (left) and health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (right) over two Oireachtas Health Committee sessions. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos</p>

news

HSE CEO claims 'previously hidden need' behind surge in gynaecology waiting lists

<p>'Research in other parts of the world, where traditional wood burning is used in the home, has shown that this is harmful and causes asthma, COPD and lung cancer.'</p>

news

Indoor wood burners cause damage 'in a similar way to cigarette smoke'

Health insurance

economy

Health insurance premiums rise 11% to an average of €1,830

Worried single pregnant woman worrying about her future

news

HSE homebirth service audit finds no agreed national standard for travel time, says advocacy group

HIV IRELAND CONFERENCE

munster

HIV resources 'haven't proportionally scaled up' alongside advances in treatment, says expert

Working mom breastfeeding baby with laptop on the couch

Breastfeeding is tricky to talk about, but we must show support

New mothers don’t need your judgement on how they feed their babies, but if they do decide they want to breastfeed they need your support

Mon, 29 Sep, 2025

Heart attacks in women: How we're missing a beat on women’s heart health

Heart attacks in women: How we're missing a beat on women’s heart health

A quick response can save a life in the event of a heart attack. But women are more likely to dismiss their symptoms — often different from the chest-clutching stereotype — because they see it as a condition that predominantly affects older men

Fri, 26 Sep, 2025

I'm a cardiologist - here are four signs your heart needs a check up

Four signs your heart needs a check-up

When it comes to heart health, a little awareness can go a long way

Fri, 26 Sep, 2025

Trump Autism Tylenol

Suzanne Crowe: Trump linking paracetamol with autism is misinformation at its most horrible

Shaming of mothers and their actions before, during or after childbirth is as old as time and is profoundly misogynistic

Tue, 23 Sep, 2025

Laura Dowling: 'It’s time to end the shame and stigma surrounding women's wonderful bodies'

Laura Dowling: 'It’s time to end the shame and stigma surrounding women's wonderful bodies'

From freeing your bush to going au naturel, women need to celebrate their bodies, says Laura Dowling, aka the Fabulous Pharmacist. In an exclusive extract from her new book, ‘Love Your Vulva’, she makes the case for embracing pubic hair for its many protective

Fri, 19 Sep, 2025

Medical students warned that trust in doctors is under severe threat

Medical students warned that trust in doctors is under severe threat

Conspiracy theories about vaccines and covid having destuctive impact, head of the school of medicine at Trinity College Dublin warns

Fri, 12 Sep, 2025

Jennifer Horgan: The betrayal of Ireland’s elderly is happening in plain sight

Jennifer Horgan: The betrayal of Ireland’s elderly is happening in plain sight

Michael D Higgins’ poetry forces us to confront Ireland’s failures in caring for its elderly, both within families and at State level

Fri, 12 Sep, 2025

Dentist and patient in dentist office

Dentist recruitment shortage is an emergency that must be addressed

We urgently need more places in dentistry courses and a new focus on making dental treatment accessible for everyone, writes Fintan Hourihan

Tue, 09 Sep, 2025

Close up of doctor woman hands typing on laptop siting on a desk at the office

'Significant gaps' in sepsis care create a challenge for early diagnosis

Health staff also said public knowledge of sepsis and resistance to antibiotics is 'poor'. They called for education on the risks and symptoms which should not frighten people

Mon, 08 Sep, 2025

Boy using asthma inhaler to treat inflammatory disease, wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Allergy tre

When our homes are making us unwell, housing becomes a health issue

Budget 2026 is an opportunity for the Government to show leadership by supporting a healthy population and healthy housing, writes Eilís Ní Chaithnía

Mon, 01 Sep, 2025

HEALTH Exercise Addiction 2

Stress and cost is preventing women from protecting heart health

Worries about the high cost of health checks identified as a key factor for women ignoring heart health

Mon, 01 Sep, 2025

Weight loss drugs can halve heart patients’ risk of early death, study finds

Weight loss drugs can halve heart patients’ risk of early death, study finds

GLP-1 agonists could be given to millions with heart conditions to help them stay out of hospital and live longer

Sun, 31 Aug, 2025

Garth Brooks Croke Park 9th Sept 2022

S Gareth O'Callaghan: The night Garth Brooks looked 35 again — and why it still stays with me

As weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy surge in popularity, one writer weighs fear, stigma and the lure of quick fixes

Sat, 30 Aug, 2025

Jennifer Horgan: Schools have second-class citizens in more ways than one

Jennifer Horgan: Schools have second-class citizens in more ways than one

School secretaries and caretakers deserve our support but girls are also experiencing inequality in our schools, writes Jennifer Horgan

Fri, 29 Aug, 2025

BreastCheck missing targets is a worrying step backwards

BreastCheck missing targets is a worrying step backwards

If a woman is referred to a diagnostic clinic, she should be scanned that day. Every week matters, and yet we are asking women to wait half a year while the disease potentially advances, writes Fianna Fáil senator Teresa Costello

Fri, 29 Aug, 2025

Sad woman

Surge in number of pregnant women suffering domestic violence

One in six pregnant women affected become homeless as a direct result of domestic violence

Tue, 26 Aug, 2025

How your menstrual cycle can impact your mental and physical health

How your menstrual cycle can impact your mental and physical health

While there is certainly evidence that sex hormones do positively (and negatively) impact women’s brains, the historical lack of women’s health research means there is a lot of catching up to do in this area

Mon, 25 Aug, 2025

TV Garraway 2

S Terry Prone: There is nothing healthy, physically or emotionally, about fat camp TV

What is it about weight that delivers such a dire permission to people whose opinions have not been elicited?

Mon, 25 Aug, 2025

Women suffer more extreme distress than men when diagnosed with cancer

Women suffer more extreme distress than men when diagnosed with cancer

Up to 46% of women deal with extreme distress at diagnosis compared to 18% of men

Sun, 24 Aug, 2025

healthy pregnancy. Side view pregnant woman with big belly advanced pregnancy in hands. mother waiting baby

Clients of closed midwife service urged to contact maternity hospitals

Private Midwives Ireland shut abruptly last week for financial reasons, leaving women scrambling for care

Sat, 23 Aug, 2025

HSE completes review of homebirth services suspended due to death of Limerick woman

HSE completes review of homebirth services suspended due to death of Limerick woman

HSE Midwest said it 'does not have a confirmed timeline for when home birth services will resume'

Wed, 20 Aug, 2025

File Photo The Health Service Executive has said it is working to establish how many patients may need to have their medical tes

HSE to launch platform for Cork and Kerry patients to give feedback on healthcare

The platform will work by offering patients the chance to upload feedback by telling stories about their care

Tue, 19 Aug, 2025

Pregnancy Stock

'I fear the HSE won't step up': Pregnant women scrambling for options following closure of private midwife service

Community midwife Sarah McCann said 'free birth is going to happen more often' following closure of Private Midwives Ireland

Fri, 15 Aug, 2025

SUDAN-CONFLICT-HEALTH-CHOLERA

Cholera patients treated on floor of Sudanese clinics with 40 dead in one week

During July, medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières treated over 2,300 cholera patients while working with Sudan's ministry of health

Fri, 15 Aug, 2025

healthy pregnancy. Side view pregnant woman with big belly advanced pregnancy in hands. mother waiting baby

Closure of private midwife service may lead to rise in free births, group warns

Private Midwives Ireland is part of UK-based Private Midwives, which is also closing

Thu, 14 Aug, 2025

Many women playing camogie and Gaelic football 'suffer in silence' with pelvic floor issues

Many women playing camogie and Gaelic football 'suffer in silence' with pelvic floor issues

Two thirds of the club and intercounty players surveyed reported urogenital pain, while almost half regularly have an urgent need to urinate

Fri, 08 Aug, 2025

Shooting At Blackstone Headquarters In New York

NFL shooting highlights battle to reduce brain injury in sport

The problems caused by contact sports are real — we need to make rugby and American Football safer

Wed, 06 Aug, 2025

Concern over weight gain after 'skinny jabs'

Concern over weight gain after 'skinny jabs'

Patients should be monitored for a year after stopping weight loss jabs to prevent them piling the pounds back on, new guidelines say

Tue, 05 Aug, 2025

HEALTH Breast Cancer 1

Three out of five breast cancer patients in Republic face financial and mental stress

Ninety per cent of patients in the North and 86% in the Republic suffering mental stress

Mon, 21 Jul, 2025

Woman lying on bed, suffering from strong stomach pain, endometriosis, menstruation.

Endometriosis education programme to be expanded across secondary schools

A new national endometriosis service is rolling out, but the HSE has acknowledged recruitment challenges

Sun, 20 Jul, 2025

Kerry mother: Doctor told my daughter that endometriosis ‘was all in her head’

Kerry mother: Doctor told my daughter that endometriosis ‘was all in her head’

After three years, four hospitals, and two countries, a Kerry teenager finally receives an endometriosis diagnosis abroad

Sat, 19 Jul, 2025

Clodagh Finn: The ‘We Do Not Care’ club is striking a powerful chord with menopausal women

Clodagh Finn: The ‘We Do Not Care’ club is striking a powerful chord with menopausal women

One straight-talking woman has given a voice to many who have felt silenced in a world that minimised the impact of menopause

Sat, 19 Jul, 2025

'It's madness': Kerry teen had to trek through three countries to get her endometriosis diagnosed

'It's madness': Kerry teen had to trek through three countries to get her endometriosis diagnosed

It took three years to identify the problem — and her mum says there were two other Irish women at the Romanian clinic the day they attended

Fri, 18 Jul, 2025

'Women’s health has just been ignored': Doctor calls for more research into women's health issues

'Women’s health has just been ignored': Doctor calls for more research into women's health issues

Dr Anita Zaidi of the Gates Foundation has urged governments to invest in research on women's health

Wed, 16 Jul, 2025

Woman Doctor Or GP In Office Meeting Teenage Female Patient For Appointment

Do we need a new model for GP care?

The demand for GP visits is expected to increase by much as 30% in the next 15 years, with an extra 1,200 doctors needed to keep pace

Wed, 16 Jul, 2025

Fergus Finlay: I arrived at the hospital for a 2.30pm appointment. I left just after 10pm

S Fergus Finlay: I arrived at the hospital for a 2.30pm appointment. I left just after 10pm

Shingles gave me a scare — and a sobering look at what’s great and broken in Irish public healthcare

Tue, 15 Jul, 2025

Cork girl's sudden death may be linked to contraceptive pill and unknown genetic condition, inquest told

Cork girl's sudden death may be linked to contraceptive pill and unknown genetic condition, inquest told

Sarah Kate O'Meara 'had so much to offer', her mother told coroner's court

Fri, 11 Jul, 2025

FRANCE-DEMO-DRUG-CANNABIS

Younger people drinking less but smoking more cannabis than older generations

While 70% of older people considered their mental health to be good or very good, this fell to just over half for people aged 18-24

Fri, 11 Jul, 2025

Injured Woman Neck

Young women are getting strokes and seizures — it's time to ban 'choking' porn

Young women are presenting at A&E with strokes, seizures and brain injuries, because of sexual techniques men are learning from pornography. We have to act, writes Ruth Breslin

Thu, 03 Jul, 2025

Baby stock

Maternity advocates urge creative thinking on mother and baby psychiatric units

Plans remain in the early stages, with just a feasibility study completed eight years after the facility was recommended

Thu, 03 Jul, 2025

Mother opens up about perinatal OCD: ‘I thought I was going to hurt myself — I didn’t want to’

Mother opens up about perinatal OCD: ‘I thought I was going to hurt myself — I didn’t want to’

After terrifying intrusive thoughts in late pregnancy, one Limerick woman is urging others to recognise signs of perinatal OCD

Tue, 01 Jul, 2025

Iodine deficiency signs found in three out of five pregnancies

Iodine deficiency signs found in three out of five pregnancies

A woman’s iodine requirement increases by 50% during pregnancy and they must get it from their diet

Mon, 30 Jun, 2025

Funeral with casket carried by coffin bearer

Tipperary County Council appeals to owners of pre-purchased graves to 'surrender' them

Council has not secured a suitable site for new burial ground to address shortages

Mon, 30 Jun, 2025

Minister expresses confidence in 'brand new executive' taking charge of children's hospital

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is 'refreshing the board', with two new members appointed within the last number of weeks, two when she became minister, and two more in the coming days

Wed, 25 Jun, 2025