Child health subject to ‘shocking’ postcode lottery, says charity

National Children’s Bureau report shows under-fives in poor areas of England are far likelier to suffer bad health – but some locations buck the trend

Another reason I won’t have kids: fetal cells stay in your body long after birth

Every month brings a new study about how pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding or parenting affects a woman’s health, and often for the worse

Babies born in a recession ‘have worse health’

Icelandic study finds link between financial crisis and lower than average birth weights

Why Rick Guidotti turned his back on Cindy Crawford to challenge our perceptions of genetic diseases

Previously in the business of snapping supermodels, a chance meeting at a bus stop made this fashion photographer look again at young people affected visibly by genetic disease.

The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep is surely the stuff of nightmares

Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin’s self-published book claims to cure young insomniacs, but should bedtime stories be about tricking children to conk out?

Mothers facing C-sections look to vaginal ‘seeding’ to boost their babies’ health

Early studies show that swabbing a mother’s vagina and transferring it to her baby’s mouth, eyes and skin may stimulate microbiome development similarly to babies born naturally – and protect it from health issues later in life

FGM affects females in every local authority in England and Wales – study

Highest prevalence of women and girls affected by genital mutilation is in London, according to research which will increase pressure to tackle the issue

Don’t judge the Beckhams. Dummy or breast, small children need comforting

The Beckhams’ use of a dummy for four-year-old Harper has caused a stir. But I breastfeed my children to a similar age, despite what others think

Help! My child is taller than me

Anna Moore talks to families in which the children have outgrown their parents

Teenage girls are skipping meals as weight anxiety soars

Two-thirds of girls in their mid-teens want to be thinner, and self-esteem continues to fall