IfWH 13th Annual Conference

The Institute for Women’s Health 13^th Annual Conference, took place on Tuesday 17^th April 2018, we were oversubscribed with 218 delegates attending most, if not all, sessions of the day. This is the largest attendance we have had for many years, and the poster session was by far the most popular, with over 95 submissions covering a wide range of topics in women’s health.

Please click through the slideshow below, to view some images from the day.

UCLH Special Lectures

UCLH special lectures included Dr Janet Rennie updating on the NHS Improvements following from her research project avoiding term admissions into neonatal units. Also, Professor Sarah Creighton, talked about her work surrounding FGM and cosmetic perceptions in adolescents of “normal” genitalia. Both lectures were extremely interesting and well received by the audience. Questions were asked with specific references to legal reporting, and also male perceptions, as well as psychological effects.

Key Note Lectures

Following on from this, Dr Leila Frodsham, one of our key note lecturers, from Guy’s And St Thomas’ Hospital, gave a very thought-provoking lecture regarding unexplained symptoms of sexual dysfunction and the psychological effects of these.

Dr France Donnay of Tulane University School of Public Health, was our other key not lecturer on the day, and she gave a very detailed talk on urbanization in the changing world of maternal health, based on her extensive work in developing countries.

Professor Judith Stephenson and her colleagues at Southampton University launched a Lancet series on “Preconception diet plays key role in health of offspring” on 17th April 2018.  Part of the Launch day was a three-part presentation on this series at the 13th IfWH Annual Conference as a Hot Topic. To read the articles please visit The Lancet website.

Debate

We ended the conference with a lively and fun debate on - All women should have the choice of caesarean section in the absence of any medical indication.

Speakers for the motion were Dr Yana Richens and Dr Patrick O’Brien, and speakers against the motion were Dr Seni Subair and Dr Nikki Glover. All speakers presented incredibly stimulating and informative views, and the debate was opened for questions from members of the audience.

After much deliberation and discussion, the debate ended with a majority vote FOR the motion, with a handful of delegates still undecided – watch this space!

Our early career-researcher presentations included a wide range of topics, with the following delegates from within the UCL Institute for Women’s Health, and UCLH Women’s Health Division, winning 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd prizes: James Dilley, Richard Caulfield, and Andrew Melbourne.  Pictured below with Anna David, Director, IfWH.

We had a wide range of posters displayed at this year’s conference, and prizes were awarded in four categories, including Students (MSc/PhD/MD), Medical Students, Junior Doctors/Midwives/Nurses/Researchers, and Best Overall. The prize winners were: Yada Kunpalin, Laura Jones, Harita Ghevaria, and Pollyanna Cohen.