A boy like Dan

Danny Mardell's world was turned upside down when his first son was born with Down's syndrome. But, as his ghost writer Sally Weale records in Danny's Challenge, published tomorrow, the shock and shame of those first few months gradually gave way to acceptance - and love.

Double trouble – and then some

More couples are asking fertility clinics to help them have twins. They may be getting two for the price of one - but do they know what they are letting themselves in for? Joanna Moorhead suspects not

Striking a cord

The private use of umbilical stem cells is questionable, but the public use is different, says Joanna Moorhead.

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.