Premature babies cross the pain barrier
· Brain scans confirm responses for first time
· Research will help care units alleviate discomfort
Mothers’ helper
In 1985, obstetric consultant Wendy Savage hit the headlines when her anti-caesarean views led to her suspension. So how does she feel now that caesarean births have soared to one in four? Natasha Walter finds out.
Must nature always take its course?
Last week Health Editor Jo Revill sparked controversy when she argued for elective caesareans. Here Karen Luckhurst, who recalls the traumatic birth of her first baby by emergency caesarean, and other Observer readers join the debate.
Every bit as magical
A British doctor is challenging convention to pioneer the 'natural' caesarean. Joanna Moorhead watched one baby's slow and gentle arrival.
Is this any way to begin life?
Premature births have reached epidemic proportions in Britain with 18,000 babies a year spending their first weeks in an incubator. But a pioneering doctor claims keeping them apart from their mothers damages their development. Nils Bergman tells Emily Wilson why the best place for an early baby is on its mother's skin.