Extreme fear of birth pain forces women to miscarry
At least one woman in six is so terrified of giving birth that she induces a miscarriage or avoids becoming pregnant altogether, even though she desperately wants children.
‘You’ll never forgive yourself if something goes wrong’
Lucy Atkins on her battle to have a natural birth the second time around
Mothers to get one-to-one childbirth care
A shakeup of maternity services that would give every mother continuous one-to-one care during childbirth was promised yesterday by Yvette Cooper, the public health minister.
The truth about life after birth
Women tend to be unprepared for the gruesome reality of the days and weeks following childbirth, new research suggests. Katharine Shaw offers an eye-opener.
The truth about life after birth
Women tend to be unprepared for the gruesome reality of the days and weeks following childbirth, new research suggests. Katharine Shaw offers an eye-opener.
My maternity ward hell
When Dea Birkett went into hospital to have twins, she was shocked by the conveyor-belt experience that turned giving birth into a 'cold, clinical encounter'.
My maternity ward hell
When Dea Birkett went into hospital to have twins, she was shocked by the conveyor-belt experience that turned giving birth into a 'cold, clinical encounter'.
With your heart inyour mouth
Gum disease has been linked to everything from premature births to pneumonia. It may also cause heart attacks, reports Oliver Burkeman
Labour of love
When Kate Figes wrote critically about the natural childbirth movement in this newspaper earlier this year she was engulfed in a storm of outrage. So what would happen when she met Sheila Kitzinger, the high priestess of the crusade against medical birth?
Someone to watch over me
You want someone there at the birth, but you can't remember your midwife's name and you suspect your partner will drive you mad. So what to do? Many women are turning to a doula, says Lucy Atkins.