We protest

The last time Kate Figes was involved in activism was at Greenham Common. But when she heard that a mobile phone company planned to erect a mast near her children's school, she started dusting off her placards.

Invasion of the pregnant dads

Books on fatherhood used to be few and far between - but not any more. Nicholas Lezard takes a look at the good, the bad, and the downright mawkish.

White gold

Breast-milk banks save the lives of many tiny babies, says Jane Hutchinson - but we need more.

The home birth lottery

Home births have been banned in Peterborough - and a midwife sacked for attending one. But it's not the only town in Britain where you'll struggle to get the delivery you want. Joanna Moorhead reports.

Cracks in public confidence

What are we to make of the new five-in-one jab for babies, when public confidence has hit rock bottom? asks Dr Ann Robinson.

A life less ordinary

As a new film opens starring a Downs Syndrome actor in her first role, Angela Neustatter talks to parents of other Downs children about helping them take the lead in life.

Whose life is it?

Is it asking too much to try for a second IVF baby, asks Sarah Ebner.

‘We loved him enough to let go’

The neonatal intensive care unit is a modern temple of miracles, saving premature babies as young as 22 weeks. But it is all too often the setting for the most heartbreaking decision a parent can make. By Susan Jones.

‘She blossoms, my flower is fading’

When the fluctuating hormones of a menopausal mother meet those of her adolescent daughter, there is inevitably conflict. But there is also great sadness for the woman losing her fertility and her child at the same time.