‘Midwifery is a calling, not just a profession’: childbirth stories around the world

Midwives provide vital, often life-saving support to women and babies during delivery. From Bangladesh to Rwanda, Canada to Malawi, mothers share their experiences of care in childbirth

Can mindfulness reduce fear of labour and postpartum depression?

Anxiety about labour – and what might come afterwards – causes stress for expectant mothers and increases risk in childbirth. But there could be a natural solution

‘I can’t forget the horror of my son’s birth’

Despite medical advancements, childbirth is a major cause of post-traumatic stress disorder – and yet nobody talks about it. Leah McLaren tells the harrowing story of the arrival of her second child – and her fight for treatment and support

Royal Institution’s new director Sarah Harper: we must show gold standard for science

Second woman to be appointed in RI’s 218-year history identifies role, in era of fake news, to supply trusted data across many issues from health to climate change and robotics

How artificial wombs will change our ideas of gender, family and equality

Science has shown what’s possible with lamb foetuses. For humans this could revolutionise birth, solving inequalities and raising new ethical dilemmas

Cheap, widely available drug could stop thousands of mothers bleeding to death

Tranexamic acid could save the lives of a third of women who die in childbirth from excessive bleeding, which kills 100,000 a year

Simone Lia on pain

My recent experience of giving birth is the greatest pain I’ve ever endured…

Jeremy Hunt orders investigation into baby deaths at NHS trust

Health secretary asks NHS England to look into cluster of deaths at Shrewsbury and Telford trust that were deemed avoidable

What’s the best age to become a mother?

Studies suggest older mothers benefit by being more emotionally mature and financially stable. But there are health risks with waiting longer to have kids. So what’s the best balance?

A moment that changed me: holding the newborn baby I never thought I’d have

As a gay man I doubted I’d become a father. With my son in my arms for the first time, I wept – for myself growing up in care and for the future with a family

OurChemist

Our Chemist – Health