Women’s rights in the Catholic church | Letters

Jenny Tillyard addresses the issue of unwanted pregnancy and a ‘demographic disaster’ in Africa, while Judith A Daniels says the church needs to legitimise women’s much-needed accession to leadership roles

Cherie Blair was right to mention the problem of forced pregnancy among young schoolgirls in Africa (Cherie Blair accused of reinforcing stereotypes about African women, 27 March). She was speaking at a Catholic school, and Catholics are currently struggling with the whole problem of unwanted pregnancy and women’s (and men’s) rights.

In traditional societies in Africa, a girl’s reproductive capacity was “owned” by her birth family, and there were recognised customs to enforce damages for “seduction”, which to some extent protected young girls. These protections have vanished with modernity, and organisations such as Cafod can provide in-depth information about the attrition of girls in school past puberty, which puts a question mark over every attempt at social development (we are talking about girls as young as 11). Of course African leaders, including bishops, would rather not talk about this. But a demographic disaster is unfolding in southern Africa, and silencing talk about it will not make it go away.
Jenny Tillyard
(Lived 30 years in Zimbabwe), Seaford, East Sussex

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Cryptic pregnancies: ‘I didn’t know I was having a baby until I saw its head’

Klara Dollan spent nine months totally unaware that she was pregnant. The possibility only crossed her mind as she gave birth in her bathroom. But cryptic pregnancies like hers are far from unusual

When Klara Dollan, then 22, woke up at 4am on the day she was due to start her new job, she thought her agonising stomach cramps signalled her period being “back with a vengeance”. She had been taking the pill with no break for more than six months, but had stopped about two weeks before. The waves of pain left her pale and shaking, but she didn’t feel she could call in sick on her first day – so she took some paracetamol on her mother’s advice, and caught the bus then the tube from the home they shared in Cricklewood in north-west London into the city.

Hours later, Dollan was in Hampstead’s Royal Free hospital, cradling a newborn baby girl: completely healthy and carried to term. Dollan had given birth by herself in the bathroom of her flat, after being sent home sick from work; a neighbour had heard her screams of labour and called an ambulance. When Dollan rang her mother and told her to come to the maternity ward, the reply was: “But you weren’t pregnant this morning!”

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Sure, he might say he’s on the pill, but would you really trust him? | Barbara Ellen

Women are right to be sceptical – they’re left holding the baby when things go wrong

Once again, there are reports of the male contraceptive pill being tantalisingly imminent. And, once again, a mental image occurs of a man and woman looking at each other, arms folded, as if to say: “Sorry, I don’t trust you a bit.”

A University of Washington study, involving 40 men, showed that sperm production could be disrupted with minimal side-effects and everything returning to normal once men stop taking the pill. Which all sounds intriguing, though it wouldn’t resolve the other major issue – the intrinsic lack of contraceptive trust between the sexes, which seems impossible to resolve, leastways to the point where the chemical baton could pass from women to men.

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Bangladesh mother discovers twins in second uterus days after giving birth

Arifa Sultana, 20, gave birth to a boy last month through normal delivery, but doctors missed the presence of a second pregnancy

A Bangladeshi mother has stunned doctors by giving birth to healthy twins 26 days after her first child was born.

Arifa Sultana, 20, gave birth to a baby boy last month through normal delivery, but doctors missed the presence of a second uterus.

Related: Twins ‘with different fathers’ born in Vietnam

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Dieselgate and the unintended consequences of anti-idling drive | Letters

Dr Robin Russell-Jones and Geraint Davies MP say the government seems more anxious to protect the interests of car manufacturers than the health of citizens. Dr Felix Leach says the latest proposals on idling have not been thought through

In the US, the Dieselgate scandal has resulted in prosecutions against VW personnel and multibillion dollar fines (Where’s there’s smoke…, 22 March). In Europe, no one has been charged and nobody has gone to jail, though the EU commission has threatened action against the UK government for failing to prosecute VW.

Defeat devices result in higher emissions of nitrogen dioxide, but the real danger from a health perspective are small particulates, notably the ultra-fine nanoparticles that can penetrate tissue, reach a placenta and cross the blood-brain barrier. These are largely present in exhaust emissions, so while all vehicles generate particulates from tyres and brakes, researchers have demonstrated that medical effects such as low birth weight are tied more closely to exhaust particulates than to friction particulates. This is important as the government likes to pretend that all particulates are equivalent, regardless of the source. Thus its clean air strategy emphasises the contribution of secondary particulates generated from agriculture etc, even though these contain little in the way of ultra-fine particles. It is disheartening that the UK government seems more anxious to protect the interests of car manufacturers than the health of its own citizens, but this situation is likely to worsen post-Brexit.
Dr Robin Russell-Jones Scientific adviser, Geraint Davies MP Chair, All-party parliamentary group on air pollution

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UK's top gynaecologist spearheads women's health task force

Lesley Regan argues maternity checks ignore lifelong health, letting women fall through the cracks

One of the UK’s top doctors is leading an effort to revolutionise health services for women, from helping them prevent unplanned pregnancies to staving off disease in old age.

Professor Lesley Regan, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, is co-chairing a women’s health task force with government minister Jackie Doyle-Price, which aims to help the 51% of the population who are women get joined-up care and attention to their needs throughout the lifespan.

Related: Sexual health care cuts will stop me helping survivors of rape and FGM

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‘You don’t become less ambitious’: the women growing their companies right alongside their babies

More female startup founders are blowing up conventional ideas that having a newborn and building a startup don’t mix

In late January, Amy Nelson, the founder of the Riveter co-working network, posted an ultrasound on Twitter. “That’s my baby girl,” she wrote. “She arrives in June … #proudmama.”

Though baby announcements aren’t uncommon on social media, for startup world, this tweet was surprising. Female startup founders have historically shied away from going public with their pregnancies. Investors – the lifeblood of startup funding – have frequently hesitated to bet on companies whose founder might soon be juggling a newborn.

Related: 'Here we don't have to hide our ambition': the rise of the women-only workspace

Related: Meet the women launching startups in their 50s: ‘I took a deep breath and jumped’

Related: Startup like a girl: why investors should pay more attention to female entrepreneurs

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