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    Editorial standards

    How we write fertility content

    Ten principles that shape every article. The same standards apply to any work we do with partner organisations.

    01

    Multi-jurisdictional by default

    We do not write 'NICE says X' as the final word on a topic. Where guidance differs across UK NICE, India ICMR, US ACOG and ASRM, Australia RANZCOG, Canada SOGC, and ESHRE, we surface the differences and explain why they exist. The reader who lives in one jurisdiction sees the relevant framework first. The reader navigating multiple systems (diaspora, cross-border treatment, mixed insurance) sees the comparison.

    We do not write

    “NICE recommends 400 IU vitamin D daily. Take this dose.”

    We write

    “UK NICE recommends 400 IU. South Asian populations are commonly deficient at this dose due to lower dermal synthesis at northern latitudes. Some specialists target a higher replete level for fertility. The standard answer may not fit your specific situation.”

    02

    Population caveats foregrounded

    Most fertility evidence is built on white European cohorts. Where a trial population was 92 per cent white European and we are addressing South Asian or Black or East Asian readers, we say so. We do not silently extrapolate. Our reference bank tags every entry with the populations it was generated in.

    03

    We name what we do not know

    Articles include an 'honest unknowns' section in grey-zone topics. If randomised evidence is thin, we say so. If a sub-population has not been studied, we say so. If two reasonable specialists disagree, we say so. Reader autonomy depends on knowing where the evidence is firm and where it is contested.

    04

    Information without prescription

    We explain. We do not prescribe. We tell you the picture, the angles, the trade-offs, and what a useful conversation with a clinician might look like. We do not tell you what to take, what to do, or what to choose. The decision is yours, ideally made with a clinician who knows your context.

    We do not write

    “If you are over 35 and have been trying for 6 months, you should escalate to IVF.”

    We write

    “If you are over 35 and have been trying for 6 months, NICE supports earlier investigation. Whether IUI or IVF is the right next step depends on tubal status, ovarian reserve, partner semen analysis, and your own preferences. This is a useful conversation to have with a clinician.”

    05

    No social or cultural imperatives

    We do not tell readers to 'ask anyway', 'speak up', 'advocate for yourself with relatives', or 'have this conversation with your husband'. Advocacy in this app means with a clinician, supported by the Doctor Summary tool. We hand information over and let readers decide how to live with it.

    06

    Yaar voice = self-interest only

    The Yaar pillar describes his body, his timeline, his testosterone, his sperm, his clinic visit. Female biology appears as planning input only ('if you and your partner are trying, the fertile window is X, here is what that means for your sperm timeline'). Never as moral homework about her.

    07

    Regulatory restraint

    No quiz output names a condition attached to the reader's own answers. Pattern-language only ('readers with these answers often ask their doctor about insulin patterns'), never diagnosis-language. Calculators and check-ins do not output a diagnosis. The Doctor Summary tool generates clinical English for clinicians, not a clinical conclusion for the reader.

    08

    Multilingual on day one

    Every user-facing string is structured to support seven languages: English, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil. New articles ship with at least baked English plus Punjabi paragraphs. Other languages are filled in over time and via the runtime translator. We do not publish English-only content and add languages as an afterthought.

    09

    Diaspora context separated from in-country context

    First-generation, second-generation, biraderi, 'back home' framing is meaningful for South Asian readers in the UK, US, Australia, and Canada. It is not meaningful for in-country readers in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka. We render that framing in dedicated diaspora-context blocks that hide for in-country readers.

    10

    Every clinical claim is traceable

    Articles cite via reference IDs that link to a public reference library at /evidence. Readers can see the underlying paper, guideline, or trial registry entry, the jurisdiction it applies to, and any population caveat we hold against it. Citations are not a marketing flourish. They are how we keep ourselves honest and how reviewers keep us honest.

    For organisations

    Anything we contribute to a partnership is held to the same standards. Editorial independence is non-negotiable.

    These standards are versioned. We tag each article with its publication date and the standards version current at that point. When standards change, existing articles are audited rather than silently rewritten.