Ladies, We Need To Talk – Details, episodes & analysis

Tick, tock, tick, tock... can you hear that? It’s your biological clock and it’s about to blow! 

For some, deciding whether to have a baby isn’t just about fertility, it’s also about weighing up whether becoming a parent is the path best taken.  Never fear, Yumi Stynes has perched herself behind the mic to hold your hand and navigate this tricky time-bomb. 

At 31, Jamila Rizvi’s life changed forever. The discovery of a rare brain tumour knocked the ass-kicking, over-achieving media advisor and young mum sideways.  

Jamila had two rounds of brain surgery, followed by radiation, and now lives with chronic health conditions. She’s had to re-map what life looks like and let go of the idea that she can control what lies ahead. 

Despite the challenges, Jamila’s found strength in herself and by leaning on those closest to her. In this episode, Jamila and Yumi dig into the wisdom that comes from being dealt one of life’s curve balls.   

When you’re stuck in the daily grind of working-mum life, sometimes it can be hard not to feel like a shitty mum.  

School lunches, getting them dressed (FFS), raising good humans, endless meetings – it's exhausting and soul-destroying. 

Yumi has some advice to ease the mum-guilt, when your heart is being yanked in opposite directions and backing away from work isn’t an option.  

If you’ve got a problem that not even your girl gang can help you solve, let us take on the burden! Send an audio note to ladies@abc.net.au 

Have you ever felt like a massive failure when you've looked in the mirror or felt depressed about the size of your thighs? You're not alone — research says almost 80 per cent of Australian women are unhappy with their weight. And nearly one million Australians have an eating disorder, most of them, women. What can we do to feel better about our bodies?

Lots of women are really self-conscious about the way their vaginas smell. We quickly hide our undies the second we take them off and up to a third of us wear a panty liner every day. But how much do you actually know about discharge? What should it smell like? What should it look like? And should we just stop dissing our discharge?

If you’re in your 30s and have had an abortion or are going to, you’re not going through it alone. It’s a myth that only the young and reckless have abortions. The stats show that older women, and those who already have kids, are having more abortions in Australia than teenagers. So if they’re the facts, why is abortion shrouded in shame, judgement and silence for older women?

We’ve all got a bad sex story. The partner who’s selfish in the sack. The horribly uninspiring one-night stand. The lover with 'performance anxiety'. Most of us have been there. There’s this idea though that we grow out of it — that we all get better at 'doing it' as we get older. But what if that doesn’t happen? What if bad sex is your life?

We're back! Join Yumi Stynes as she once again tears open the sealed section on life to talk all about your forbidden lady business. This is the podcast where we can confess all our secret ladies' stuff and learn something along the way. So, whether it's your discharge, what you use for birth control, or how you can make a new friend ... we're here for you! Ring us on 1300 641 222 or email ladies@abc.net.au. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode.

You trusted us with some of your deepest, darkest and most intimate secrets and you let us share them with the podcast universe.

For our final episode of 2018, we check in with the women we’ve met and hear from YOU about what you’ve learnt.    

Everyone gets a little bit anxious at times, but is what you’re feeling normal? Anxiety is the most common mental health issue in Australia. Up to one in three women will experience anxiety, for men it’s one in five.

So why are women going through this? And if you are, what can you do about it?

Crisis linesLifeline on 13 11 14Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36Headspace on 1800 650 890QLife on 1800 184 527Chat servicesElefriends SaneeHeadspace  Beyondblue