Les Mills, New Zealand Olympian behind global gym chain, dies aged 91

He and his wife opened first Les Mills gym in Auckland in 1968 and family later introduced workout programs including BodyPump taught worldwide

A US champion of ‘freebirthing’ always claimed there had been no maternal deaths linked to the movement. Is Stacey Warnecke the first?

Guardian investigation exposes full links between a US business linked to baby deaths around the world and Australian ‘birth keeper’ Emily Lal, the central witness at the inquest into the death of a Melbourne wellness influencer

The Guardian view on the Ockenden maternity review: lifting standards must be the number one priority

Editorial: Families are right to be angry about devastating care failures in Nottingham. Ministers must respond fast

Mental illness is pregnancy’s number one complication. It’s time to support those who suffer from it

Integrated mental healthcare for maternity services, more perinatal psychiatrists and public awareness of the problem could deliver meaningful change

My egg, my wife’s womb, our baby: how we found our way to lesbian motherhood

When Leah and I planned a family, we wanted to be as mutual as possible. Could reciprocal IVF – Leah carrying an embryo made from my egg – be the way forward?

A moment that changed me: I was wary of men – then I found out I was having a baby boy

When I became pregnant, all I wanted was a healthy baby. Discovering I would be having a son gave me a new perspective on the narratives around masculinity

I yearned to be a mother. Why did I feel nothing when my daughter was finally born?

I had presumed I would love her instantly – but a traumatic birth led to devastating numbness

Why aren’t Republicans thrilled by the fall in teen pregnancies?

In the US, the birth rate for 15- to 19-year-olds dropped 7% last year. But what seems like good news for society has been lamented by some leading Maga figures, writes Arwa Mahdawi

Black women in Georgia turn to midwives for safer births – so why does the state criminalize many of them?

A new lawsuit seeks to decriminalize the work of midwives banned from providing care amid a worsening maternal health crisis

Trying to conceive? Welcome to the worry-filled world of ‘trimester zero’

An army of ‘pregnancy prep’ influencers is offering would-be parents everything from sensible advice to quackery and questionable supplements. What’s really needed?