All posts tagged: deliberately

Mums ‘Deliberately Dehydrating Themselves’ To Avoid Bladder Leaks

Mums ‘Deliberately Dehydrating Themselves’ To Avoid Bladder Leaks

Published by Sam Flores

I stopped in my tracks today when I read that almost half (45%) of mothers are deliberately dehydrating themselves before doing an activity or going out post-birth because of the risk of bladder leaks. The finding is from a survey of 2,000 birthing parents by ethical period and bladder care brand Grace & Green, which also found that almost 40% of respondents avoid wearing certain colours or clothing because of fears over leaks, and one-quarter of mums stopped having sex in the fourth trimester because of it. Just over one in 10 (13%) said they stopped exercising or doing hobbies, and a further 13% felt unable to play with their children. These stats are certainly something I can relate to – and I’m sure many reading this will, too. After having my first baby, I swiftly realised my pelvic floor was not working as it should. A simple sneeze could result in disaster. Yet, other than being told to do pelvic floor exercises (which was pretty vague – and I had no idea if I …

‘They knew who she was’: Why journalists accuse Israel of deliberately killing a reporter

‘They knew who she was’: Why journalists accuse Israel of deliberately killing a reporter

Published by Sam Flores

BAYSARIYEH, Lebanon  — The coffin of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil floated above the crowd, draped in the red, white and green of the Lebanese flag, with Khalil’s press vest and helmet balanced on top. Khalil, a veteran 43-year-old journalist for the Lebanese daily Al Akhbar, was killed Wednesday in an Israeli strike on the house she was sheltering in while covering the ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Wounded in the same attack was freelance reporter Zeinab Faraj. In tears as they walked through the village of Baysariyeh, the mourners gathered to remember Khalil, the ninth journalist killed in Lebanon this year. For many here, Khalil’s death reflected a larger pattern — first seen in the Gaza Strip — of Israel hunting down reporters. “This was an assassination; this wasn’t by mistake. The Israeli military knew who she was, and they killed her,” said Mohamed Zanaty, a freelance journalist and friend of Khalil’s who was covering events nearby when she was struck. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in a statement on X, said that …

Police warn that ‘callous’ rapist jailed for life after deliberately giving men HIV may have infected more victims | UK News

Police warn that ‘callous’ rapist jailed for life after deliberately giving men HIV may have infected more victims | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

A man jailed for multiple rapes and deliberately infecting men with HIV may have more victims, police have warned. Adam Hall, 43, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 23 years, at Newcastle Crown Court on Thursday, where he was convicted in March of raping four men and intentionally passing on the virus to three more. Hall hid his HIV status from partners, failed to take medication to keep his viral load low, then had unprotected sex with men, sometimes raping them. He was convicted of five counts of rape and seven counts of causing grievous bodily harm – by deliberately infecting younger partners with HIV after meeting them in bars in the Newcastle area or on the Grindr dating app. Image: Adam Hall. Pic: Northumbria Police Some of Hall’s victims were aged in their 20s but the youngest was just 15, with the schoolboy finding out he had contracted the virus in a phone call from health professionals moments after he stepped off a school …

Two reports accuse Israel of deliberately destroying Gaza’s reproductive health system

Two reports accuse Israel of deliberately destroying Gaza’s reproductive health system

Published by Sam Flores

A Palestinian woman and her baby in a destroyed street in Gaza, November 2, 2025. MAHMOUD ISSA/REUTERS Since the beginning of winter, seven children have died from the cold in the Gaza Strip, according to local health authorities. On January 14, the American human rights organization Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and its Israeli counterpart Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) released two reports focusing on what they call “reproductive violence” perpetrated by the Israeli state in the Palestinian enclave. The appalling living conditions endured by hundreds of thousands of Gazans forced to crowd under flooded, wind-torn tents are just one of the many hardships faced by women and newborns detailed in the two studies. Nearly 80% of the enclave’s buildings were destroyed. The targeting of health facilities and the restriction of essential medical supplies have resulted in famine and acute malnutrition. These Israeli policies have “devastated the reproductive capacity of Gazans,” according to the investigators, hindering fertility among women of childbearing age and causing an increase in pregnancy complications, maternal deaths and infant mortality. …