Centuries ago, women could “plead the belly” - argue they were pregnant to avoid the death penalty. It gave rise to the female jurors in Australian courtrooms.
Adding vitamin and mineral supplements to the diet of pregnant women with antenatal depression not only reduced their symptoms and improved their functioning – it also benefitted their infants.
28% of trans and non-binary people felt they were not treated with dignity and respect during labour – but coverage of the UK birth trauma report has largely ignored LGBTQ+ families
Most Americans surveyed did not know how pregnancies are dated or how long a trimester is – but this is especially true among some groups, like people who say they support six-week abortion bans.
Human heart organoids allow researchers to study the developing heart while avoiding the ethical issues of using human embryos and the imperfections of animal models.
Medical workers navigate their own moral and religious beliefs, professional standards, the law and the realities of clinical work – which can be especially complicated in abortion care.
Obstetric and gynecological violence is care that is violent, disrespectful, abusive or neglectful. At its heart is the absence of consent, or consent without having received appropriate information.
Laws such as Alabama’s controversial ruling that gives personhood rights to frozen embryos will have ripple effects on how advance directives are interpreted by doctors and the courts.
In the past, when courts considered disputes over what to do with no-longer-wanted embryos, they typically considered them property. The Alabama ruling challenges this legal precedent.
I’m a scholar, not an activist or an advocate. But now one of the most intimate, personal events of our lives had been turned into a political event by the state’s highest court.
Many people wrongly assume that cannabis use during pregnancy is safe. Research is increasingly documenting a host of serious health harms from prenatal exposure to cannabis and other substances.
Adolescent girls are more at risk during childbirth. Stigma and abuse by healthcare workers makes them less likely to seek medical care, putting their lives further in danger.