Cerys Matthews: music for going into labour
The Doctor recommends tunes to ease the many twists, turns, highs and lows of giving birth
The cult of natural childbirth has gone too far
A report condemning midwife ‘musketeers’ of Morecambe Bay brought back memories of my own emergency caesarean. Being bullied into a natural birth is not what I call feminism
Furness hospital’s ‘lethal mix’ of failings led to deaths of 12, report says
Report finds ‘failures at almost very level’ including midwives on ‘seriously dysfunctional’ maternity ward known as ‘musketeers’ due to their cavalier attitude
Ketamine control plan condemned as potential disaster for world’s rural poor
Repeated Chinese attempts to tighten controls on drug described as ‘David and Goliath struggle’ between poor and rich countries
Partners can worsen childbirth pains for the intimacy-averse, study finds
Psychologists find that women who need less closeness in their relationships feel more pain when accompanied by their partner
The joy of being an older mother
Officially you are an ‘elderly primigravida’ after the age of 35, but with age comes wisdom – and a sense of humour
The seismic changes of having a baby
Exhaustion; TV that’s suddenly hard to stomach; a whole new relationship with partner, family, job… Five months into motherhood and everything has changed. Eva Wiseman returns
Homebirth or hospital birth? Choose what’s right for you, but educate yourself first
Jessica Valenti: We don’t have to declare doctors monstrous in order to promote midwives. Both choices can and should be made as safe and acceptable as possible
Inflatable incubator aims to help save premature babies
Rebecca Smithers: A design graduate won this year’s James Dyson award for his low-cost inflatable incubator which aims to reduce infant mortality
Social impact: the top five stories of 2014
This year’s top social impact stories featured electric cars, breastfeeding versus baby formula and the lack of diversity in British Vogue