If you were pregnant or parenting during Australia’s 2019–20 summer of smoke and fire, chances are you felt acutely anxious – and grappling with impossible responsibility.
In my research, I try to uncover the cultural significance of the placenta and afterbirth in premodern Europe to help us better understand the social and medical history of this important organ.
New motherhood is often portrayed as a time of joy but it can also be filled with fears and complicated feelings. Here’s how you can get help and support.
About one in six pregnant women in Australia are now diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Rates have more than doubled since the thresholds for diagnosis were changed.
A March of Dimes report gave the US a grade of D+ for maternal and infant health care, highlighting that the national preterm birth rate hit 10.5% in 2021, a record 15-year high.
Sexual challenges during pregnancy and postpartum are common, but couples often don’t know what to expect when it comes to their sex lives during this time. The good news is that information helps.
COVID-19 vaccination has been shown to be safe in pregnancy, and protects both the mother and infant from severe disease. It’s now also clear that infants’ antibody protection continues after birth.
Abortion bans and restrictions have numerous downstream effects on health care. For instance, medical students in states where those laws exist will not receive training for some standard procedures.
Although testing for CMV during pregnancy isn’t routine and there isn’t universal screening for infants, there are steps pregnant people can take to protect themselves and their newborns.
Mifepristone’s safety in medication abortions has been well established over more than two decades, but legal wrangling leaves the future of the drug hanging in the balance.