The number of midwives in England has increased by just 7% over the last year and some NHS Trusts in England have more than one in five midwifery jobs vacant, according to BBC research. The Royal College of Midwives says staffing gaps have to close. The BBC’s Health Correspondent Catherine Burns joins Clare McDonnell to talk about what her investigation into maternity units in England has discovered, and to share the story of Farzana, who had to give birth on her own after midwives said they were too busy to answer her calls.
Carole Stone must have one of the best address books ever. A former producer of BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions, for years Carole has run 'salons' and parties bringing together hundreds of interesting people - politicians, actors, journalists. Carole’s partner, the TV broadcaster Richard Lindley, died four years ago. Carole joins Clare to discuss how and why she is looking for another soulmate at the age of 81.
Could the next leader of North Korea be a woman? Clare gets the latest from lead correspondent at NK News, Jeongmin Kim, and hears more about what life is like for women on the ground with North Korea expert, Professor Hazel Smith.
As the number of pupils missing a significant amount of their education is about double the level it was before the pandemic, Clare is joined by Ellie Costello, the executive director of Square Peg, a not-for-profit which helps families that struggle with school attendance.
It’s 60 years this week since Jackie, the magazine for teenage girls, was first published. At its peak, it was selling more than a million copies a week. To celebrate the anniversary, Clare is joined by Nina Myskow, Jackie’s first female editor, and Wendy Rigg, a teenage fan who achieved her dream of working on Jackie.
Presenter: Clare McDonnell Producer: Lottie Garton
Endurance runner Imo Boddy, love bombing, fake food artist
Solving historic rape cases, British cyclist Lizzy Banks, Margaret Leng Tan
Infected blood scandal, Anita Pallenberg, Feminist theatre
Weekend Woman’s Hour: Royal Navy exclusive, Tamsin Greig, Period Tracker Apps, Formula One, Sleepwalking, Choral music
Lesbian bars, Period Tracker Apps, World champion boxer, Lauren Price MBE
Women in Formula One, Monstrum, Sex education, Bridgerton dresses
Beth Mead, Women and choral music, Eating disorders
Birth trauma, Sleepwalking, Lolita Chakrabarti
Royal Navy Exclusive, Sarah Atherton MP, Tamsin Greig, singer-songwriter Lauren Mayberry
Weekend Woman's Hour: Foster caring, Liz Carr on assisted dying, Sabrina Ali on Dugsi Dayz, Rachel Chinouriri
Whooping cough, Shirley Conran, Lying, Afghanistan tourism
Liz Carr on assisted dying, Money in relationships, Singer Rachel Chinouriri
Safer sport for women, novelist Nadine Matheson, Sabrina Ali on Dugzi Dayz
Losing your possessions, Defining honour abuse, Foster caring
How to age well: A Woman's Hour special
Weekend Woman's Hour: Co-parenting, Plastic pollution, ACL injuries, Perinatal suicide
Listener phone in: Boys - what's it's like to be one in 2024?
Woman's Hour special: How is porn shaping our sex lives and relationships?
Lawyer Harriet Wistrich, Chef Asma Khan, ACL injuries and women
Co-parenting, Homelessness and women, Dr Jessica Taylor
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