Dame Lesley Regan is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College, St Mary’s Hospital, London. Having graduated from the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London in 1980, Professor Regan pursued her career at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, where she first became enthused by clinical & laboratory research, completing an MD on miscarriage, the commonest complication of pregnancy. She went on to set up the world’s largest recurrent miscarriage clinic at St Mary’s. Professor Regan was the 30th President (2016-2019) of the RCOG, during which time she co-chaired the national Women’s Health Task Force and published the RCOG Better for Women report which highlighted the need for an NHS led women’s health strategy. Lesley was awarded a DBE for her services to women’s health in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List. She was appointed chair of the WoW charity in October 2020 and became the first ever Women’s Health Ambassador for England in July 2022, to help implementation of the Government’s recently launched Women's Health Strategy to improve the health and wellbeing of girls and women nationally.
In this episode we discuss some of the key topics in women’s health as Lesley’s interests span from the cradle to the grave. As well as her pioneering work on miscarriage, Lesley has been helping women with menstrual issues, fertility and infertility and menopause. She has been trying to deal with the many obstacles and myths around women’s health. In 2009 she presented a TV series called Professor Regan Investigates looking into how some companies use science to sell. This issue is even more important now, as women’s health tech has become a booming industry. Through her work, education has been key for Lesley to ensure all women lead their best and healthiest lives.
Date of episode recording: 2024-03-15T
00:00:00Z
Duration: 01.14.35
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Joyce Harper
Guests: Professor Dame Lesley Regan
Producer: Joyce Harper
What is Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me This? ?
This podcast is about health education with an emphasis on reproductive health. We do not cover these topics enough in school or beyond. Joyce Harper and her guests want to give you the tools to empower you to live a healthy, happy and fulfilled life. And on the way, we will debunk some of the myths around our health. This podcast will include a wide range of amazing guests, discussing topics such as nutrition, exercise, sleep, mental health, happiness, cancer, periods, fertility, infertility, fertility treatment, preconception health, pregnancy, miscarriage, PCOS, endometriosis, menopause and much more. Joyce is a cold-water swimmer so expect some episodes about swimming! They will tell you about their work and life journey, what are the key messages they want you to know, their motivation, what makes them happy and their advice to their younger self. Joyce Harper is an award winning author, educator, academic, and scientist with over 30 years’ experience in reproductive health. She is Professor of Reproductive Science at the Institute for Women’s Health at University College London where she heads the Reproductive Science and Society group. Her latest book, Your Fertile Years, is published by Sheldon Press, 2021. She is chair of the International Fertility Education Initiative and co-chair of the UK Fertility Education Initiative. She is founder of Reproductive Health at Work.