Second class delivery

A controversial study in 2000 recommended caesareans for breech births. But is the move to surgical intervention really best for mothers, asks Viv Groskop.

America’s abortion battlefield

Things may not be perfect in Britain, but they are far worse in the US. Suzanne Goldenberg reports from the front line in South Dakota.

Time to speak up

It's 39 years since abortion was legalised in this country, yet these days it's rarely discussed without mention of 'shame', 'mental trauma' or 'viability'. With pro-lifers dominating the debate, and even leftwingers describing abortion as a 'necessary evil', women's hard-won rights could soon be under threat. In an introduction to an eight-page special, Zoe Williams asks: are we just going to roll over?

Mother knows best

Leader: Late motherhood, it seems, retains an uneasy resonance, but research presented yesterday shows that not all the facts support this.

Why Baby can only get dumber

Leo Benedictus: So yet another intelligence myth has been squashed: breastfeeding, whatever its other benefits, does not increase your baby's IQ.