Urgent calls for Australia-wide register of sperm donations amid concerns about ‘prolific’ donors

Experts say informal donations a ‘huge problem’ that could lead to trauma for donor-conceived people who find they have dozens of half siblings

NHS fines mothers for claiming free prescriptions while pregnant

Pregnant women are entitled to free medication, but without a maternity exemption certificate they face bills of hundreds of pounds

Black babies stillborn at almost twice rate of white babies, ONS figures show

Campaigners call for greater research into why there are such stark variations in England and Wales

Mental health should be part of every woman’s birth plan. Here’s why

When the odds are stacked against women, for mental health and the birth experience, postpartum mental health should be integral

Poverty in UK could increase death rates during or after pregnancy, warns WHO

Britain is falling behind European countries for mortality among mothers, and suicide is the leading cause of postpartum death

Postpartum psychosis: new mothers speak out over need for support

Mania and depression can set in very quickly after a baby is born but care across the UK is patchy

‘I knew she was dying, but didn’t expect her to time it so spectacularly’: losing my mother as my baby was born

As I lay in the maternity ward, I learned my mother was gravely ill. What followed was a year full of love, rage, resentment – and a strange cocktail of new life and imminent death

Private ultrasound clinics in the UK are profiting from our anxiety

Unregulated ultrasound clinics run without proper training are making money out of maternal fears

Rising temperatures causing distress to foetuses, study reveals

Climate crisis increases risks for subsistence farmers in Africa who usually work throughout pregnancy

Air pollution linked to almost a million stillbirths a year

First global analysis follows discovery of toxic pollution particles in lungs and brains of foetuses