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Woman's Hour

Women and map reading, Faecal incontinence, Sexual desire and the menopause

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2019

⏱️ 49 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Queen’s speech yesterday contained mention of 26 new or returning Bills and more than a dozen areas where the government plans action. We look at how Boris Johnson’s legislative programme might address the concerns of women and the charge from critics that this is a pre-election manifesto.

We had such a huge response to yesterday’s item on faecal incontinence that today we’ve invited on surgeon Mr Oliver Warren and specialist pelvic physiotherapist Sue Almond to respond to your comments and outline the various treatments available.

Being bad at map reading is one of the many well-worn stereotypes about women. But is it true? The results of a massive global study of over 2.5 million people suggests it is, although not through any innate fault with women’s brains. Gillian Coughlan from the University of East Anglia talks about the science behind finding your way, while former Head of Publishing at the AA Helen Brocklehurst talks about the history of route-finding, women’s relationship with navigation, and her new British Road Map puzzle book.

How often have you heard the comment, the menopause seems to have taken away my sex drive? It’s a topic that psychotherapist and sex therapist Louise Mazanti comes across frequently in her practice. We explore how it’s possible for the two – sex and the menopause - to co-exist happily together.

Presenter: Jane Garvey Interviewed guest: Anne McElvoy Interviewed guest: Oliver Warren Interviewed guest: Sue Almond Interviewed guest: Gillian Coughlan Interviewed guest: Helen Brocklehurst Interviewed guest: Louise Mazanti Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

0:05.1

This is the Woman's Our Podcast.

0:07.1

Hi, good morning.

0:08.9

Thanks to everybody who emailed the program after we talked about fecal incontinence yesterday.

0:14.1

That's why, frankly, we're returning to the subject today because so many of you had

0:18.0

further comments and questions.

0:19.8

And this is typical, actually, from a listener who says, finally, somebody's talking about

0:23.7

this.

0:24.7

I have felt alone with all this since January of 2018.

0:28.5

There's nobody to talk to.

0:30.2

The friends I've told haven't experienced it at all and I feel all alone and heavily

0:35.1

restricted by my anxiety about it all.

0:38.4

So we'll investigate further.

0:39.9

We've got a co-loat rep tool, surgeon with us and a physiotherapist as well, who are

0:44.0

both experts, and they will hopefully give us more information.

0:47.6

Keep your questions coming as well at BBC Woman's Our, on Twitter and Instagram, or you

0:52.0

can email the program via our website.

0:54.9

Also today, we'll look at sexual desire and the menopause.

0:58.3

Is it inevitable that your libido just decreases?

1:02.2

And the old cliché that women can't read maps, apparently, that might actually be true,

1:06.9

or at least, I've been a bit journalistic there.

1:09.1

It's certainly true that men tend to be slightly more adept at reading maps.

...

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