Friends united: pair who struck up an unlikely friendship in fight against FGM
British midwife and Kenyan teacher have 40 years between them but have formed a strong bond out of shared passion
North Korea claims ‘new liver medicine made at national zoo’
State media says researchers have developed a remedy to combat hepatitis made from a ‘bear’s gall’ and a ‘common shrub’
I don’t like being the face of FGM, says Australian survivor, but I must break the silence
Khadija Gbla is trying not to think about the fact she and her son, due in February, could die during labour due to medical ignorance about complications from female genital mutilation
2014: not such a bad year after all
The international news agenda tends to focus on things that go wrong. Here we present a selection of the year’s good news stories, as a counterbalance to the ravages of war, violence, disease, natural disasters, corruption et al
Symphysiotomy – Ireland’s brutal alternative to caesareans
Homa Khaleeli: Symphysiotomy has left many Irish mothers with serious long-term health problems. So did religious dogma trump the women’s best interests?
Debt collectors pursue 43m Americans over unpaid medical bills
One in five Americans have unpaid medical debts, according to a a new government report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Mothers breastfeed outside Claridge’s in support of woman told to cover up
Mass ‘nurse-in’ protest targets five-star London hotel after staff ask Louise Burns to hide her baby under a napkin
Sit in the corner: Nigel Farage’s tips for mothers breastfeeding in public
Ukip leader backs Claridge’s hotel in row over mother asked to hide her baby under a napkin and urges women to ‘be discreet’
We can’t be complacent about pregnant women’s rights in Britain
Rebecca Schiller: A local authority has failed to make drinking in pregnancy a crime, but we should be wary about further attempted incursions
People with a vagina have needs – but making their baby-cannon smell of fruit is not one of them
Lindy West: It wasn’t true, but the story that Sweet Peach Probiotics wanted to re-aroma women’s vaginas said a lot about men’s attitudes