The Gynae Geek: Your no-nonsense guide to ‘down there’ healthcare. Dr Mitra Anita

      

Copyright

      Thorsons

      An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published by Thorsons 2019

      FIRST EDITION

      © Dr Anita Mitra 2019

      Illustrations © Nicolette Caven 2019

      Cover layout design © Ellie Game 2019

      A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

      Dr Anita Mitra asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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      Source ISBN: 978-0-00-830517-8

      Ebook Edition © March 2019 ISBN: 978-0-00-830518-5

      Version 2019-02-21

Dedication

      For Menelaos, Achini and my mum

       Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Down-there healthcare by the Gynae Geek

PART ONE: Anatomy

Chapter 1: External female genital anatomy

Chapter 2: Internal female genital anatomy

PART TWO: Periods

Chapter 3: Periods – the basics

Chapter 4: Irregular and absent periods

Chapter 5: Heavy periods and other period-related frustrations

       PART THREE: Sexual Health and Screening

       Chapter 6: Vaginal discharge

       Chapter 7: Contraception

       Chapter 8: Emergency contraception and termination of pregnancy

       Chapter 9: Sexually transmitted infections

       Chapter 10: Cervical screening and HPV vaccination

       PART FOUR: Fertility and Getting Pregnant

       Chapter 11: When you are thinking about trying to conceive

       Chapter 12: Fertility and egg freezing

       PART FIVE: Lifestyle and Women’s Health

       Chapter 13: Stress

       Chapter 14: Food

       Chapter 15: Exercise

       Chapter 16: Sleep

       Final thoughts

       Resources

       Notes

       Index of Searchable Terms

       About the Publisher

Acknowledgements

      It is such an honour to write something for the whole world to see. But I couldn’t have done it without the support of some incredible human beings who deserve huge thanks.

      To Dr Rupy Aujla, my brother from another mother, for being the one who forced me to put myself out there to talk about something I believe the world needs to know.

      To Dr Laura Thomas, for taking a chance on The Gynae Geek and inviting me on her podcast to discuss vaginas before that was a ‘cool’ thing to do.

      To Dr Hazel Wallace and Alice Liveing, who both gave me a massive leg-up by collaborating with me on their social-media channels and giving me valuable advice about