‘Between pleasure and health’: how sex-tech firms are reinventing the vibrator

A new wave of sex toys is designed to combine orgasmic joy with relief from dryness, tension and pain

Access to contraception has got harder in England, top doctor says

Lesley Regan, women’s health ambassador for England, says ‘destructive’ changes to NHS system in 2012 are failing women

What is Primodos and why were 100 UK families seeking compensation?

Concerns about birth defects first raised in 1960s but evidence for causal link to pregnancy test remains contentious

‘I was sick with pain – but doctors thought I was a hypochondriac’: the spreading agony of kidney stones

Up to one in 10 of us will get kidney stones, according to the NHS. Even teenagers are at risk from what was long seen as an older man’s affliction. Why – and what can we do to prevent them?

Failure to recognise ectopic pregnancy causing women’s deaths, says expert

Prof Marian Knight says action needed to improve diagnosis of condition in which fertilised egg implants itself outside womb

The secret to getting more out of exercise? It’s not what you do – it’s when you do it

Current science suggests that chrono-activity or adjusting our regimes to suit our body clocks, plus short, sharp workouts, are the key to a beneficial exercise routine

‘I sleep better, I feel incredible and my energy levels are through the roof’: the one exercise that finally worked

A 75-day six-pack programme, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, women-only weightlifting and Couch to 5k: four writers on finding their perfect route to fitness

Let’s stop whispering about menopause and reclaim ownership of our bodies

For too long women’s bodies have been shrouded in mystery and shame

Rising temperatures causing distress to foetuses, study reveals

Climate crisis increases risks for subsistence farmers in Africa who usually work throughout pregnancy

No need for six-month wait to try for baby after pregnancy loss, study finds

Analysis challenges WHO health guidance on amount of time women should delay after miscarriage or abortion