Woman's Hour

Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

Magazines & Reviews

Podcasts

Factual: Life Stories

Factual: Health & Wellbeing

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

BBC Radio 4 FM

Woman's Hour: Jilly Cooper, Rachel Goldberg – mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Women & binge drinking, Perinatal pelvic health service.

Jilly Cooper, Rachel Goldberg – mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Women & binge drinking, Perinatal pelvic health service.

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Jilly Cooper, Rachel Goldberg – mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Women & binge drinking, Perinatal pelvic health service.

Jilly Cooper talks about football, why there is less sex in her new novel, and her diaries

Jilly Cooper on football, sex and diaries, Rachel Goldberg – the mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, women and binge drinking, funding for a perinatal pelvic health service.

Jilly Cooper began her career as a journalist, wrote columns on marriage, sex and housework for the Sunday Times, and numerous works of non-fiction before turning to romance novels - to great success.  She has sold more than two million copies of her books including: Riders, Rivals, and Polo - taking us into the glamorous worlds of show jumping and classical music.  Her latest novel Tackle! takes us to the football pitch and features her legendary hero Rupert Campbell-Black.  Jilly joins Emma to talk about football, why there is less sex in her novels now, and her view on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reading her books. 

Yesterday marked a month since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel in which 1,400 people were killed and more than 200 men, women and children taken hostage. One of those seized and kidnapped was Hersh Goldberg-Polin - a 23-year-old dual Israeli American citizen who was attending the Supernova music festival - the site of which became a massacre of a majority of young people - more than 250 people at the hands of Hamas.  Hersh lost an arm during that attack but is still believed to be alive.  Since then more than 10,300 people have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry in retaliatory air strikes by Israeli forces demanding the return of its citizens. Emma speaks to Hersh's mother Rachel Goldberg.

A new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which compared alcohol consumption across 38 countries, British women top the list as the heaviest binge drinkers alongside Denmark. The OECD found that 26% of British women reported binge drinking at least once a month - defined as having at least six drinks in a single session.  Emma discusses the issues with Dr Helen Garr, GP and Medical Director of NHS Practitioner Health, a mental health and addiction service for healthcare professionals; and Catherine Gray, the author of The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober.

The government has announced £11 million in funding for the NHS in England to roll out a dedicated perinatal pelvic health service across all trusts. The aim of these new perinatal pelvic health services will be to help educate and assess women during pregnancy and after a traumatic birth – but how will it work? And is it enough? Emma speaks to Jacqui Barrett, who had a traumatic birth and was incontinent for a year, Professor Swati Jha, consultant gynaecologist and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Conservative MP Maria Caulfield, who is the Women’s Health Minister. 

Presented by Emma Barnett
Producer: Louise Corley
Studio engineer: Gayl Gordon

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Woman's Hour

Jilly Cooper, Rachel Goldberg – mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Women & binge drinking, Perinatal pelvic health service.

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4