Regular Papanicolaou (Pap) screening has dramatically reduced cervical cancer incidence in Canada since the 1950s. However, Indigenous women's rates of cervical cancer remain disproportionately high, a factor which is not acknowledged in national media or in educational materials reporting Canada's new cervical cancer screening guidelines. Here, we present findings from a cervical cancer screening initiative in Northwestern Ontario. Based on participatory action research, we worked with 10 First Nations communities in the Robinson Superior Treaty area to increase awareness of cervical cancer risk, develop culturally sensitive tools for screening and education and test the efficacy of human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling as an alternative to Pap cytology. We conducted 16 interviews with health care professionals and 9 focus groups with 69 women from the communities. A central theme for both health care providers (HCPs) and community members was the colonial legacy and its influence on women's experiences of cervical cancer screening. This was evidenced by a strong sense of body shyness, including shame related to sexuality and sexually transmitted infections, concerns about confidentiality in clinical encounters and distrust or caution around HCPs. Reaffirming women's traditional caregiving and educational roles, enhancing mother and daughter communication, improving cultural sensitivity in health care and education and adoption of HPV self-sampling to increase women's privacy and control of the cervical cancer screening experience were endorsed. We argue that education and CIHR Author ManuscriptCIHR Author Manuscript CIHR Author Manuscript screening initiatives must reflect the cultural preferences of Indigenous women, empowering them to take control of their experiences of health and body in cervical cancer screening.

A scoring system was used to study the occurrence of abdominal striae gravidarurn in a group of 74 primiparae during the puerperium. The striae score was correlated with maternal age, height, weight, weight gain, abdominal skinfold thickness and with the birthweight of the infant. Striae were less common when birthweight was low and more common in the heavier, fatter women. The prophylactic use of olive oil to massage the abdomen was associated with a low incidence of striae.STRIAE occur in the skin in a variety of conditions of which the most common are pregnancy,

Over 3 million women in England have a smear test each year, and many of them will require further investigation and possibly treatment. The adverse psychological consequences associated with cervical screening are well estab lished. Written information is one effective strategy to help allay women's fears and concerns, but the quality of the information that women receive needs to be improved. This article describes the use of a systematic review of the literature to develop evidence-based criteria for the content of letters and leaflets for each stage of the cervical screening process form invitaion for the initial smear test to treatment. The methodology used in conducting the review is also described.

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