Homebirth or hospital birth? Choose what’s right for you, but educate yourself first
Jessica Valenti: We don’t have to declare doctors monstrous in order to promote midwives. Both choices can and should be made as safe and acceptable as possible
The day I got my first period
From confusing advice – ‘Don’t talk to lads now’ – to bumbling attempts to help, our readers share warm, moving, and funny stories about menstruation
Social impact: the top five stories of 2014
This year’s top social impact stories featured electric cars, breastfeeding versus baby formula and the lack of diversity in British Vogue
The IVF egg donor: ‘I knew I didn’t want children. I’ve just found out I have three’
Altruists such as Vanessa Traill are playing an increasingly important role in helping childless couples unable to conceive naturally. Joanna Moorhead meets one of them
Oliver Burkeman: family mind games at Christmas
‘Family fights and failing marriages aren’t our own unique tribulations. They’re just variations on “games” we all unwittingly play,’ Oliver Burkeman says. ‘This week, why not try to catch yourself in the act?’
The perils of having an older parent
When Charles Lambert was born, his father was 64. After a childhood overshadowed by ill-health and old age, he cautions against late-life parenthood
I had postpartum psychosis. More must be done to help mothers like me
Vonny Leclerc: Postnatal depression’s bigger, uglier brother hit me. When all eyes are on the beautiful baby, we can forget to look at the mum
Better care urged for pregnant women with mental health problems – study
Deaths from indirect causes such as suicide have remained constant despite overall fall in maternal mortality rate
Should I have a home birth?
Studies show that, for healthy women, they are safe and, largely, free of complications. But the choice between home and hospital is still up to you
Call us, say midwives, as they back home birth advice
Midwives at St George’s hospital in London say outcomes are better for women giving birth in midwife-led centres and at home