Since the advent of medical methods of contraception in the 1960s, it has been the practice to offer contraceptive advice to women on the postnatal wards. As time spent in hospital has become less, this advice is sometimes offered within hours of delivery! It is hardly surprising therefore that the presence of the well-meaning family [...]

The gradual progression of one of the most common female disorders, that of polycystic ovarian disease, with the occurrence of oligomenorrhoea and in some case hirsutes and weight gain compounds the whole problem. The resultant despondency can lead on to excessive eating, an altered body image and the attempted killing of all sexual attractiveness in [...]

Here it was easy for the adults, including the doctor, to take over and decide what was best. It may be that the nurse was less of an authority figure or that by suggesting a date, made the abortion suddenly seem imminent. However, the nurse let the girl know that her feelings were important. The [...]

The age of consent to sexual intercourse for a girl, at present, is 16 years in Great Britain. It is legally allowable to offer contraceptive advice without parental approval provided the following conditions are met. The doctor must encourage the girl to discuss the matter with her parents if she possibly can, there must be [...]

Miss C. became pregnant when she was 15 years old. She had been very disruptive at school and the staff were concerned about her home situation. Miss C. had an abortion under pressure from her mother. Attempts to get her to take the oral contraceptive pill failed and eventually she became pregnant again. This time [...]

Weeks 4 through 6: Don’t Attempt Intercourse

Continue with the program as outlined in weeks 1 through 3, and follow these suggestions to remove the stress of “trying.” Instead, explore different, nongenital ways of pleasing yourself and your partner. Breast touching is off limits, too. The idea is to relax and enjoy the pleasure of being [...]

Sometimes a man’s unrealistic (and often unarticulated) expectations will sabotage a technically perfect operation. Some doctors require all patients to be psychologically evaluated in the hopes of identifying just such patients.

An example of this problem is Zachary, a 53-year-old diabetic who had been divorced for many years. He was convinced his potency problem was to [...]

A fan palm tree with razor-sharp branches that can be found all over Florida, the saw palmetto is filled with olive-sized berries. The extract of these berries is believed to be a sexual stimulant and a remedy for enlarged prostate glands.

It is the latter application that is particularly interesting. Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, is [...]

It’s no secret that men don’t visit doctors as often as women. My female patients are up front about their belief in yearly checkups or, as some refer to it, “general maintenance.” If you are a woman whose partner has ED and you want to help him, there are ways to do it. But in [...]

Also, alcohol may present a special erection threat to diabetic men. Researchers have found that the more alcohol a diabetic man drinks, the more he increases his chances of losing potency.

Cigarettes have a similar effect. Diabetic men may be particularly susceptible to the negative effects of smoking on erection. One study evaluated 30 diabetic men, [...]