The Victorians are to blame for our conservative ideas about how a pregnant body should look
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Articles on Maternity
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A robust body of research finds that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy is safe and effective – and the best way to protect both mother and child from the risks of COVID-19.
The pandemic will affect types of care and social beliefs about reproduction in the longer term.
‘Catching a baby’ or caring for new parents on Christmas Day is special, midwives say. But Christmas can also be a vulnerable time for many women, especially so during a pandemic.
Shapewear for expectant mothers, particularly when it’s endorsed by celebrities, may contribute to body dissatisfaction in pregnancy.
The way in which the pandemic has altered the maternity experience has unexpected echoes with expectant mothers during the second world war.
Unfortunately, disrespectful and neglectful treatment of women during childbirth, including verbal, physical and emotional abuse is not uncommon.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, pregnant women are facing new health risks and a health care system that’s changing around them by the day.
For lesbian couples or trans men, the ‘unexpected’ gender of one parent causes difficulties for maternity services where notions of ‘normal’ are increasingly out of step with the times.
When World War II struck, the British government evacuated women to hospitals in the countryside to give birth – and the change still affects maternity care today.
Women’s health in the months and years before they become pregnant can impact on their health during pregnancy and the baby’s development, our new research shows.
Midwives should provide continuous support during labour and birth and they should respect women’s choices when it is within safe practice to do so.
South African law requires surrogate mothers to hand infants to their legal parents without undue delay. But it doesn’t provide leave for these parents to care for their infants. That is set to change.
Both sides of the debate are promising to cut European red tape – which seems to mean cutting equality laws.
One of the UK’s most senior nurses has been forced to apologise after publicly attacking professional practice. Here’s the case for the defence.
Is a woman’s longing for a child evolution at work, or social conditioning? And what about those who don’t want kids? Are they defying nature? Probably not, as almost everyone wants sex.
Top contributors
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Nottingham Trent University
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Mark Elgar is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor of Evolutionary Biology, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and HDR, Midwifery Discipline Leader, Western Sydney University
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Professor of Applied Health Research, University of Stirling
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Professor of Law, University of York
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Lecturer in Mercantile Law, University of the Free State
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Senior Lecturer in Labour Law, North-West University
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Professor of Life Course Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland
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Lecturer, School of Nursing, Department of Midwifery and Gender, Moi University
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Principal Lecturer in Midwifery, University of Brighton
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Margaret Pyke Professor of Reproductive and Sexual Health, UCL
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Exercise Physiology Lecturer, Australian Catholic University
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Honorary Research Associate, University of Hull
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Assistant Professor, University of California, San Francisco
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Clinical Assistant Professor, Director of Interprofessional Education, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University
