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
Co-parenting, Homelessness and women, Dr Jessica Taylor
Sex and choking, Online Abuse and work, Plastic pollution
Boys, Lyra McKee, Perinatal suicide, South African elections
Weekend Woman’s Hour: Zeinab Badawi, Fisherman Ashley Mullenger, Stalking, Singing and periods
Weinstein conviction overturned, Fishing, Comeuppance, Ballet pumps
BRCA1, Open relationships, Wrongly Accused: The Annette Hewins Story
Zeinab Badawi, Singing and periods, How is the debate over abortion shaping the US election?
Kitty Ruskin's year of casual sex, The Girls of Slender Means, ARFID
Peres Jepchirchir, Rhianon Bragg and stalking, Nitazenes, Tortured poets
Woman's Hour special: Breaking The Cycle
Weekend Woman's Hour: Ruth Wilson, Young women and voting, Jing Lusi
Solitude, Apprentice winner Rachel Woolford, Personal space, Kids and smartphones
Ruth Wilson, periods and concussion, Ashley Storrie on BBC comedy Dinosaur, sewing for mental health
Cricketer Nat Sciver-Brunt, Smacking, Hypochondria, Police drama Blue Lights, Soul Sisters Pakistan
Hollywood film producer Deborah Snyder, Young women and voting, Machinal star Rosie Sheehy
Jing Lusi, Fatal stabbings in Sydney, Australia, Declaration of the Rights of the Child
Weekend Woman's Hour: Juliet open letter, Vogue’s Chioma Nnadi, Female Psychopath
Marian Keyes, Juliet open letter, Swiss climate victory
Gloria Steinem at 90, Rebecca Ferguson, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
The Cass Review, Back to Black, Female Psychopath
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