Eat your own placenta, January Jones? – No thanks

Deborah Orr: Betty from Mad Men recommends it after giving birth, but I'll stick with tea and toast

Nearly half of births in England and Wales are to mothers over 30

49% of women are over 30 when their baby arrives, as average age of mothers continues 40-year climb, ONS figures show

NHS maternity units to share £25m fund to improve childbirth experience

More than 100 hospitals in England will share money to modernise maternity units in midst of ongoing baby boom

Experience: I gave birth outside Waitrose

Daphne Bolus: 'I wanted somewhere quiet to give birth – even with the screens I could see the feet of shoppers walking by'

Are we getting childbirth wrong?

The conversation: Kirstie Allsopp discusses caesareans, guilt and breastfeeding with birth guru Sheila Kitzinger

On the set of Call the Midwife with Suzanne Moore

Call the Midwife returns to our screens next week with its big Christmas special. Fans Suzanne Moore and daughter Angel go on set to discover the secrets of its success

The mothers fighting back against birth intervention

During labour, women feel under severe pressure when doctors and midwives bully them into medical interventions they do not want. Louise Carpenter reports on the mothers starting to fight back

‘I think of my egg donor every day’

Egg donation is an extraordinary, life-changing gift. But what is it like for those involved? We talk to a donor, recipients and a doctor

Poland’s ‘baby hatches’ leave vulnerable mothers exposed

Sophia Deboick: Polish Catholics are defending hatches where unwanted babies can be left. But they can do more harm than good

Lucy Mangan: the nation rejoices at Wills and Kate’s baby news

'Pippa's drafting her latest cash-in volume. "Babies are an excellent way of continuing the family line"'