Mothers facing C-sections look to vaginal ‘seeding’ to boost their babies’ health

Early studies show that swabbing a mother’s vagina and transferring it to her baby’s mouth, eyes and skin may stimulate microbiome development similarly to babies born naturally – and protect it from health issues later in life

I’m 29: should I freeze my eggs?

Moya Sarner and her boyfriend both know they want children - just not yet. Should she join the growing number of women in their 20s considering egg freezing?

Don’t judge the Beckhams. Dummy or breast, small children need comforting

The Beckhams’ use of a dummy for four-year-old Harper has caused a stir. But I breastfeed my children to a similar age, despite what others think

A letter to … my mother, who is ‘locked in’ after a second stroke

The letter you always wanted to write

Help! My child is taller than me

Anna Moore talks to families in which the children have outgrown their parents

Kathy Lette: I joked about not wanting to be pregnant – then I had a miscarriage

At home after a scan that revealed she had lost her third baby, the Australian-born author was overcome by unexpected emotion

With miscarriage, there are many routes to shame

Mark Zuckerberg is right to challenge the taboos surrounding pregnancy. But the pressure on women remains intense

Crowdbirthing: do young mums really like to push in public?

According to a survey, twentysomethings’ appetite for sharing every aspect of their lives has made it on to the labour ward, with eight family members and friends in attendance at each birth

Why do babies cry? You asked Google – here’s the answer

Every day, millions of internet users ask Google some of life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queries

Gay parents fight to leave Thailand with surrogate baby daughter

US man and Spanish husband have been refused consent by surrogate mother to leave country after she claims they were not ‘an ordinary couple’