Crisis in NHS maternity units revealed as 21 rated ‘substandard’

Care Quality Commission finds many services inadequate, needing improvement or shut over safety concerns

Time-warped: how modern life shortens our perspectives

Many of us feel the anxiety of living in a time of ‘polycrisis’, but taking a long view will help you cope

More than one in 10 women struggle to bond with their baby, survey shows

73% of surveyed women say they received no information on bonding in first weeks after giving birth

Breast is best if you want top marks for your children? You’ve got to be kidding

A piece of research that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny is piling the guilt on to mothers

Sleeping apart due to snoring could improve relationships, scientist says

Move into separate rooms can mark a new beginning as couple are well rested and happier, claims expert

Access to contraception has got harder in England, top doctor says

Lesley Regan, women’s health ambassador for England, says ‘destructive’ changes to NHS system in 2012 are failing women

A moment that changed me: I was in my 20s and depressed – then my mother moved into my bed

Her attempt to comfort me seemed ridiculous at the time. But years later it showed me how I could be there for my own daughter

‘I didn’t even know men could get it’: the hidden impact of male postnatal depression

Postnatal depression affects up to 15% of new mothers, but studies suggest almost as many fathers also show symptoms – and little is being done to help them

Babies are dying because of NHS failings, poverty and inequality, charities warn

Maternity services need urgent improvement and investment to meet government target of halving stillbirths and neonatal deaths