How my molar pregnancy became a life-changing event

At first I assumed it was a virus, and then that I was expecting another child. But the truth was far more disturbing – and the start of a long and emotionally taxing battle

R is four months sober

My husband is getting all the praise for staying sober after rehab – meanwhile, I'm shattered and seething

Michael Pollan: Why the family meal is crucial to civilisation

Michael Pollan, the American food writer and campaigner, says eating together round the table every night is the way children learn best how to get along in the wider world. Interview by Richard Johnson

I discovered I had colon cancer while I was pregnant

At 31, Matilda Tristram was looking forward to having her first baby. Then she discovered she had cancer. Her comic chronicling the experience is raw, funny and still unfolding. Interview by Zoe Williams

I tried to stop my husband drinking

R was too drunk to make it up to our hotel room on our wedding night and had to be lifted

Pregnant women are not the only smokers – tests are not the answer

Emer O’Toole: Asking pregnant women to take breath tests is patronising and fails to take into account that smoking is society’s issue too

Breath tests targeting smoking in pregnancy backed by midwives

Royal College of Midwives says tests could help show women the potential damage that smoking can cause to their baby

The food apps that could be bad for your children’s health

Sue Quinn: Kids enjoy food-based games – and tablets and smartphones offer a fun, interactive playing experience. But what happens when they are adverts for unhealthy processed food in disguise?

The wide-awake club: getting your child to sleep

Go The Fuck to Sleep, a rallying cry for a legion of exhausted parents, is being made into a film. Sophie Heawood discovers why getting your baby to nod off has become such big business

Secret diary of a surrogate mother

Your brother and his wife are desperate for a child. You offer to help – but will you really be able to give up the twins you've carried for nine months? A surrogate mother tells her story…