I thought vaginismus would end my sex life – but it was just the beginning

The pain of penetrative sex meant my partner and I had to explore other options, says journalist Shiler Mahmoudi

Dentists would not treat my toothache – now my health has been wrecked for ever

I was fit and healthy when I first felt pain in a molar. After numerous dentists and doctors left it untreated, there were knock-on effects throughout my body. Today I am in constant pain and look almost unrecognisable

A new start after 60: ‘I won MasterChef – and finally learned to believe in myself’

Life as a retired banker bored Irini Tzortzoglou, so she decided to enter MasterChef. She trained hard, won the competition and now works as a chef, writer and public speaker

‘I was told they didn’t offer C-sections’ – the dangerous obsession with ‘natural births’

Amid recent maternity scandals, women are speaking out about not being listened to when having a baby – in some cases with terrible consequences

At-home abortions made women safer. Ending them in England would be disastrous

In the US, women’s access to abortion is being chipped away - we cannot allow the same creep in Westminster, says MP Diana Johnson

Stop charging migrant women for NHS maternity care, RCOG urges

Exclusive: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says policy is harming health of pregnant women and babies

Sofie Hagen on the legacy of lockdown: I realised what the world feels like for thin people

The comedian explains how staying at home offered a respite from abuse on the streets and feeling unwelcome in public spaces. But did it really have to take a global pandemic?

Going places: 10 inspirational female adventurers

To mark International Women’s Day on Tuesday, these great women offer inspiration on how to power up your own adventures

It would be a moral and medical disaster if Britain became a surrogacy centre

‘Routine’ childbirth is dangerous. Let’s not add commodified women to the risk list

Expectant mothers are too often treated as an inconvenience – and we can’t blame a TV drama for that

The BBC’s new show This Is Going to Hurt is about overstretched doctors – but patronising pregnant women is a long-standing problem, writes Guardian columnist Zoe Williams