First week back at work after maternity leave ✅ I have to admit I was pretty scared! Would I remember my IT log-ins…no I did not! Would I remember how to operate…turns out I can! And everyone was so kind and welcomed me back with open arms which made it a lot easier. Thanks to all the people who helped me find me feet xxx Lots of love to anyone heading back to work soon or if it’s playing on your mind. You’ll be great!! 🤩

A few thoughts on the new gynae health ad campaign about censorship by @bodyformuk 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Head to @eveappeal for all the gynae health education that you didn’t get at school. And if anyone knows where I can find one of these posters on a bus stop/billboard let me know!

WHAT I WISH I’D KNOWN ABOUT GYNAE HEALTH WHEN I WAS YOUNGER: Well, it’s nothing fancy. I just wish I’d been taught more about what was normal. Thankfully I never had any real problems with my gynae health but even just working out whether I did or not was scary because I didn’t know what was normal. And I always tell people now, that you’ve got to know what’s normal before you can work out what’s abnormal & needs medical attention. Google wasn’t a thing when I was growing up so I remember going to the library to read a gynae text book! And that’s one of the reasons that I wrote my own book a few years ago called ‘The Gynae Geek: your no-nonsense guide to down-there healthcare’ so that others can learn the basics to reduce anxiety & help them work out when they need help. AND WHAT I’LL TEACH MY KIDS: •The proper anatomical names for body parts •What’s normal & what’s not •How to speak out about concerns about their body & health •That no question is too embarrassing to ask And I’ll talk about gynae health to my daughter AND my son because everyone needs to learn about it. Join me and share your #YoungerSelfie TOMORROW for Get Lippy Day. The question is: If you could go back and have a word with your younger self, what would you say? Share a photo of yourself when you were younger, and one of you now and in the caption let us know what you wish you had known about gynae health when you were younger. Don’t forget to tag @eveappeal and use #GetLippy #YoungerSelfie.

Today I got up at the crack of dawn to go to Birmingham to give a talk about the vaginal microbiome at the British Society of Colposcopy & Cervical Pathology. Here’s how it went… #conference #research #bsccp #vaginalmicrobiome #microbiome

Have you ever wondered why you get period poops? Why do you get bloating at specific times in your menstrual cycle? What happens after the menopause? And why is constipation so common during pregnancy? @doctor_rabia and I discussed all of these and more during this instagram live. I hope you enjoy it! #guthealth #ibs #pregnancy #periods #periodpoops #bloating #probiotics

🎗ENDOMETRIOSIS Q&A Thank you to everyone who joined the endometriosis Q&A tonight with Martin Hirsch @endometriosis.surgeon.uk as our resident endometriosis expert and @carlacressy from @theendometriosisfoundation who is an incredibly inspiring women who has a long history of endometriosis and shared her experiences today. We talked about: - What is endometriosis? - How is it diagnosed? - How to get healthcare professionals to take your symptoms seriously - How it's treated including surgery - Endometriosis after the menopause It was pretty a pretty whistle-stop tour of a very complicated disease, because we had over 1000 questions & we wanted to try and address as many topics as possible to try and help as many people as possible. If you missed it you can watch the replay via the link in @theendometriosisfoundation bio called 'Events'. We didn't cover diet or fertility, because @carlacressy just did a fantastic webinar with @sophiedietitian & also has a whole fertility webinar coming up tomorrow (Thurs 16th) so do have a look via the same link in @theendometriosisfoundation bio, where there's also loads more info about endometriosis. Please also check out Martin's excellent instagram account which has loads of reliable information about endometriosis (@endometriosis.surgeon.uk). Thanks also to @thefertilityshow for hosting us 💛 #endometriosis #endometriosisawarenessmonth

THREE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TWINS I did a recent Q&A about twins and these were by far the most frequently asked questions 1. Did you have IVF? Lots of people asked this and I’m fairly sure lots of other people wanted to ask. But the answer is no, I didn’t have IVF or any kind of fertility treatment. I got pregnant naturally, and yes, it was a bit shock when I found out. Maybe a story for another day… 2. Do twins run in your family? No they don’t. But did you know it’s more common to get pregnant with twins as you get older (and nothing to do with IVF). I’m not that young anymore, so I guess it was a bit of that and also a bit of luck?! 3. Are they identical? No, they’re non-identical as one is a boy and the other is a girl. This means that they came from two separate eggs, and they grew in their own sacs and had their own placentas. They already look very different and have very individual personalities which is going to be fun to watch. Since having twins myself, it feels like there are twins everywhere! And so many people who follow my account seem to either have twins, be twins themselves or are currently pregnant with twins! What kind of questions do you get asked? If you are currently pregnant with twins then I highly recommend checking out @twinstrust for loads of great practical information and antenatal classes & workshops. #twins

5 reasons why I wouldn’t spend my money on a celebrity-promoted vaginal health gummy 1. The terms ‘probiotic’ and ‘microbiome’ are often thrown around as powerful marketing terms which after often used to give many products some seemingly credible properties. Unfortunately probiotics are not a panacea for health. 2. There isn’t any scientific evidence that we all need a probiotic. If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it. 3. There are many types of probiotic. The marketing for this gummy states it has been ‘clinically studied’. Spoiler alert: this specific probiotic has not been particularly well-researched with regards to vaginal health. If I was going to discuss probiotics to a patient, which I occasionally do specifically related to a condition called bacterial vaginosis I certainly wouldn’t recommend this type. There are many other types that have been more extensively studied. 4. Please seek advice from a healthcare professional if you have symptoms such as foul-smelling vaginal discharge, itching, irritation, bleeding etc. Don’t take health advice from a celeb. 5. This is anti-feminist. Anyone who tells you that you need to change the taste or smell of your vulva or vagina is working with the patriarchy. And while we are at it, let’s stop using the cat emoji to refer to our anatomy… @eveappeal has loads of great educational content on gynae anatomy and gynae symptoms.

Life lately… Lots of walks Lots of coffee Lots of cuddles No photos of the endless nappies and baby vomit 🤣 #twinlife

The idea of delivering your baby in an operating theatre can seem quite overwhelming, as it is an unfamiliar environment and there can be a lot of members of staff present. Recently, we welcomed our twins during a planned caesarean section. After having the permission of all members of the team involved, we were able to record this clip of the delivery. We wanted to share this, to give an insight into what the inside of an operating theatre looks like during a caesarean section. The number of people in this clip may be alarming but everyone has a crucial role: - Surgeons x2 - Anaesthetist x2 - Operating Department Practitioner x1 (they assist the anaesthetic team) - Scrub nurse x1 - Runner x1 (they bring equipment as needed during the procedure) - Midwifes x2 (one for each baby) And we were lucky to have a colleague of ours in theatre who took amazing photos for us. @gynaegeek said “once the drape was up I forgot how many people were in the room, and a few minutes later I was completely distracted by meeting our babies”. #twins #caesareansection #parents

And then we were FOUR! 👶🏻👶🏻 Last week @m.tzafetas & I welcomed our twins; a boy & a girl. On the labour ward where we first met. In the operating theatre where I performed my first Caesarean section. It was pretty surreal being on the other side of the table. As you may have noticed I never mentioned the pregnancy on Instagram because I actually found the whole experience quite stressful so it felt easier to keep it to myself. Now that they’re finally here and we’ve all managed to survive the first week it feels like a good time to finally share the news ❤️💙 #twins

Let the games begin… #readyforit #parenthood #twins