Hi everyone, Alice from The Lowdown here 
This month, our newsletter is sponsored by our friends at NHS England as part of HPV Awareness Day, which was on Monday 4th March.
If you’re an OG newsletter subscriber, you’ll know that we’ve worked with the NHS before on the COVID-19 vaccine and cervical screening campaigns. We love how involved you all get when we work with them — and I’m really excited that we’re continuing to help the NHS with their next project.
Things we learnt this month… 
The NHS wants to hear your thoughts on the HPV vaccine 
The Lowdown has partnered with the NHS for HPV Awareness Day on a 5 minute survey that aims to understand widespread attitudes and knowledge of HPV (Human Papillomavirus).
The NHS has set the ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, which means ensuring as many people as possible are being vaccinated against HPV, while also coming forward for cervical screening. This survey will help the NHS gain a better understanding of how people feel about HPV and how people think it works.
It’s open to anyone who lives in England, but we’d especially like to hear from parents and young women. Whether you know lots about HPV or nothing at all, we’d love for you to have your say and pass it on in your group chats 
This is your chance to tell the NHS what you want to know about HPV!
Menopause symptoms can be debilitating, but filling the knowledge gap could help us feel prepared 
Recent research showed that one in 10 women had left their jobs due to menopause symptoms. Now, new guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says employers must make “reasonable adjustments” for anyone going through menopause whose symptoms are impacting their day-to-day activities, in a bid to tackle discrimination.
A 2022 survey showed that 60% of women didn’t feel prepared for perimenopause, and over 90% hadn’t been taught about it at school. So, is it any wonder that so many of us find it difficult to carry on as normal when anxiety, mood swings, and brain fog take over? If we’ve never been taught what to expect, how could we prepare for it? Can you guess what I’m about to say next? 
A new perimenopause experience area has just dropped on our website. Hit the link below to so you (or your mum) can share your experience!
Are we all really “coming off the pill”? 
Something I get asked a lot in interviews is what I make of the ‘growing trend’ of women coming off the pill. I’m always a bit perplexed by this and ask the journalist, “What reliable data do we have that women are actually doing this?” Sure, anecdotally women like me are trying different options, but I’m careful not to overstate or sensationalise things without data.
A couple of weeks ago, The Times shared data suggesting that many people have been moving away from the pill in the past 10 years (find it here if you don’t subscribe). This graph is a bit misleading, as it’s only using data collected from sexual health clinics. The UK has closed 26% of its sexual health clinics in the last 3 years. Given every method in that data is dropping in prescribing, isn’t this showing that the lack of funding is impacting contraceptive prescribing overall?
The data also doesn’t include prescriptions filled out by GPs, which we know make up around 80% of contraception prescribing in the UK. So it really is just one part of a larger story.
If you are curious about coming off the pill (or whether you need to take a break from contraception at all), we’ve got a blog for that.
In the news… 
We’ve been gripped by this fascinating article in the British Medical Journalon corporations using feminist language to push products or tests that aren’t always 100% evidence-based.
Two of the largest pharmacies in the US will start to sell the abortion pill, Mifepristone, over the counter. This feels like a win after the countless horror stories post Roe vs. Wade. There’s also more Mifepristone research on the horizon about its use as a non-hormonal contraceptive, FYI.
In positive endometriosis news (yes, really), a new medication, called Ryeqo, has been approved for use in Australia to treat moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis.
Bookmark to read, listen and get involved… 
If you missed the Mythbusting Contraception panel talk we hosted with The Pantry Underwear at the end of last year, you can now listen to it as a podcast. Check it out here or search ‘changing room chats’ on your preferred podcast app.
Sign Reproductive Justice Initiative’s Clap Back on the Contraceptive Patchcampaign to call for there to be more skin tones of the patch available — there’s currently only one!
Friend of The Lowdown (and our fave feminist pole dancer), Tara Margulies, is starting a new online community called Understand Your Cycle, for all things periods and taboo topics.
Post of the month
Dr Fran takes on Elon Musk 
As always, thanks so much for reading our newsletter, and if you have anything you’d like to share or ask us, I’d love to hear it.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my personal newsletter if you want more updates from me — I recently published my first post on 7 things I learnt running a startup while pregnant.
Thanks,
