Hello
We're very pleased to say we've managed to secure some time with experts to answer all your questions about the COVID vaccines and women’s health - whether that’s pregnancy and breastfeeding, menstruation and fertility, the menopause or much more.
We’ve seen lots of confusion and dilemmas on site by pregnant women especially, under pressure to make big decisions but not empowered with all the information they need.
We also know that women are tired of being patronised so these experts will try and present as full a picture about the current research as possible, as well as their personal medical opinions and suggestions. Our aim is to get you evidence-based answers without judgement or pressure.
This is a non-live Q&A: we’ll be collecting your questions from now until 2pm on Friday 27th August, and the answers will be posted up on this thread on Friday 3rd September.
So if you have any questions at all about the vaccines, now's your chance to ask 'em. Whether you want to know which vaccine is best for the third trimester, if you can still breastfeed, how it will affect your flow or your menopause, or anything else to do with your health as a woman, no question is too stupid.
The experts answering your questions will be:
Dr Nikki Kanani, a GP in south-east London and Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement. Nikki has held a range of positions within healthcare and with her sister she co-founded STEMMsisters, a social enterprise supporting young people to study science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine.
Dr Kate Wiles, Consultant Obstetric Physician and Nephrologist at the Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust. She is also the medical lead for the East London and Essex maternal medicine network, managing all aspects of medical disease in pregnancy.
Dr Oge Ilozue, a GP and Senior Clinical Advisor for the London NHS COVID Vaccination Programme.
So please do add all your questions here by Friday 27th August 2pm and we look forward to posting up the answers next week.
As always, please remember our guidelines - please keep it civil, and if one topic is dominating a thread, we might request that people don't continue to post what's effectively the same question or point. Rest assured we will ALWAYS let the guest know that it's an area of concern to multiple users and will encourage them to engage with those questions.
And with that it’s over to you for your questions.
Thanks
MNHQ
EDIT: Friday 3rd September - Dr Kate Wiles and Dr Oge Ilozue have answered some of your questions this afternoon. If your question hasn't been answered, Dr Nikki Kanani is planning to answer any remaining questions on Monday. Thank you