Lifestyle changes could prevent half of all cases of diabetes during pregnancy

Smoking, poor diet, inactivity and being overweight increase risk of developing gestational diabetes by up to 48%, says study

Nearly half of all cases of diabetes during pregnancy could be prevented if women ate well, exercised regularly and stopped smoking before and during pregnancy, according to a study.

Gestational diabetes is a common pregnancy complication that has long-term adverse health implications for both mothers and babies.

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Hyperemesis gravidarum: 'Kate Middleton's ongoing condition is much worse than just morning sickness'

Doctors can be slow to realise how debilitating the condition can be for pregnant mothers, as I know from experience, says Miriam Phillips

So, it would seem the whole world knows about hyperemesis gravidarum now it is a royal problem too. Earlier this month Kate Middleton was forced to cancel her visit to Malta, her first solo royal tour, because, due to her second pregnancy, she is again suffering from the condition. For those of you who havent been briefed yet: no, it is not just morning sickness and no, drinking flat coke or eating a ginger biscuit wont make it stop.

Quite frankly, the comparison of hyperemesis to morning sickness is like breaking your arm in several places and then being told youve just knocked your funny bone. Hopefully, this increased media attention will help the poor expectant mums, who like me, were wiped out by the condition.

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Are you a good mother? Stop asking and just enjoy being a parent | Jessica Valenti

Youre sure to get two things when you become a mother: a cute baby and a brutal inferiority complex

I came across a parental treasure trove recently: a batch of videos of my daughter that I had previously thought lost. She was about one year old at the time, when I was still a postpartum mess because of her early and traumatic birth. I dont have a lot of clear memories from that period, but I had been figuring that I was a terrible mom back then. I was so emotionally checked out and in turmoil, I thought, how could I possibly be anything but?

But when I watched these videos of me singing to Layla, doing the alphabet with her, or somewhat embarrassingly trying to get her to dance to A Tribe Called Quest a different picture started to emerge. The unkind image of myself as a bad mom, which Id built up in my head for three years and counting, fell apart with every smile from her, every laugh from behind the camera. I hadnt been a bad mom at all. Actually ... it sort of seemed as if I was great.

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Surrogacy boom in Mexico brings tales of missing money and stolen eggs

Gestational mothers and new parents tell of dark side of industry that operates in legal grey area

Five days after her caesarean section, Nancy boarded a night bus in the southern Mexican city of Villahermosa and made the 10-hour journey back to her home in the capital. Instead of a baby, she nursed a wad of bills buried in a blue handbag she never let out of her sight.

The cash was the final instalment of her 150,000-peso (£7,000) fee to be a surrogate mother for a gay couple from San Francisco. After a traumatic year that included being all but abandoned by the agency supposedly looking after her, and being falsely accused of demanding additional cash to hand over the baby, Nancy was not so sure it had been worth it. I just wanted to get my money, go home, rest and forget about it all, said the 24-year-old, sitting in her tiny apartment in a poor barrio of Mexico City. And now the money is all gone.

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Caesarean section rates in South Africa recklessly high, warn experts

Up to 90% of pregnant private hospital patients opt for C-section in parts of Cape Town, far exceeding WHO limit of 15%

More than two in three South African mothers in private hospitals give birth by caesarean section, way above the international average, research has shown.

Experts estimate that in wealthy areas 80% choose to have a caesarean, and in some hospitals in Cape Town the rate exceeds 90%, despite the cost being higher than a natural birth. The World Health Organisation (WHO) advises a maximum of 15% caesareans per country.

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Giving birth and boozing? The risks of drinking during pregnancy

With new research published about the harms of binge drinking while pregnant, what is the evidence around what, if any, is too much alcohol?

Deciding whether to drink alcohol during pregnancy is a confusing business. Anecdotally, viewpoints on the matter range from testimonies of I drank through the whole of my pregnancy and my child turned out fine to reports of bartenders refusing to serve alcohol to pregnant women. Recommended guidelines from health professionals are highly variable, with some doctors recommending complete abstinence and others suggesting that occasional light drinking is unlikely to cause harm to the baby.

The evidence base for the detrimental effects of alcohol abuse during pregnancy is well established, but less is known about the impact of light or heavy social drinking in pregnancy. This week, a new study published in the journal of European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found evidence that drinking during pregnancy might be a risk factor for later childhood problems. It therefore seems timely to ask; when it comes to social alcohol use in pregnancy, how much is too much?

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Poorer women experience worse care during pregnancy, says study

Women less likely to have seen doctors and have higher chance of hospital admissions and unplanned caesarean deliveries

Women in low-income groups experience worse care during pregnancy, with the most deprived being 60% less likely to have received any antenatal care when compared with the least deprived, according to a study.

Researchers from Oxford University's National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit also found that the most deprived women in England were 38% less likely to have been seen by a health professional prior to 12 weeks' gestation and 47% less likely to report being able to see one as early as they desired.

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Male birth control: if you build it, will they come? | Jessica Valenti

A scientific breakthrough has gone viral, and it works. Except for one thing: guys who already hate wearing condoms have to get a needle in their penis first

Do you know how hard it is to get a man to wear a condom? Its so difficult that the Gates Foundation launched a contest last year for people to create a next-generation condom to increase pleasure in the hopes that men would actually use it. Planned Parenthood even provides people with a script of thing to say when your partner refuses to wear one.

So youll have to excuse my trepidation when Im told that the next revolution in male birth control doesnt involve something guys have to wear, but something theyll happily inject ... and not in their arms.

Open contributions: Why or why not?

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I dont love my colleague, but shes having my baby | Mariella Frostrup

A man who feels he was tricked into getting a colleague pregnant doesnt know what to do, especially as she wants to get married. Mariella Frostrup says he should focus on the child

If you have a dilemma, send a brief email to mariella.frostrup@observer.co.uk

The dilemma I have a female colleague who has, over the past three years, told me she loves me and would like to marry me. The problem is that I do not love her and I have told her that. I used to be in a relationship with another girl, but we recently broke up. In April I was at a low point and my colleague visited me and we had sex, and now she is pregnant. The dilemma I have now is that she insists that I marry her because the child will need a father and a mother. However I cannot marry her because I do not love her. At the same time I do not want to lose my child. I also feel betrayed because I think she took advantage of my stresses and now she has leverage. I am not sure if I can forgive her for that. Please advise what I should do.

Mariella replies Leverage? Thats hardly the best way to describe an unborn child. No matter what the history behind your present conundrum, theres now a third persons wellbeing you need to add to the equation. This child youve created is not a bargaining chip but a human being. Remember that no matter how much both of your behaviour suggests flaws in the description, you are the adults here.

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor: I craved Monster Munch when I was pregnant

The singer recalls being pregnant on a butchery course and reveals why she likes airplane food

My parents had me young and Id often go to restaurants and dinner parties with them and their friends and Id be the only child there. Id draw on napkins and say Im bored! and be told Well, you have to suggest topics to talk about, Sophie.

I remember when I was four going to Kenya with mum, when she was doing Blue Peter, and I was shown a live lobster which was then cooked for our supper, which is quite a dramatic moment when youre four.

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Were naming the baby after Noel Edmonds!

As Stuart Heritage and his girlfriend get ready for parenthood, he explains why the TV presenter is his guiding light

My child hasnt been born yet, but I already know that Im going to be a terrible parent. The worst. Im going to be fussy and overattentive. Im going to micromanage the hell out of everything it ever does. Im going to live in a constant state of panic. Theres a pretty good chance that Im going to name it after Noel Edmonds, too. My child is bound to hate me for all this but, to be frank, its probably got it coming.

Weve already come quite close to losing our baby and the thought of going through anything like that again has already sent me into a death-spiral of emotional suffocation that wont let up until it moves out. Having kids, Im starting to discover, is going to be a right pain in the arse.

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Prenatal alcohol consumption linked to mental health problems

Children whose mothers drink four units of alcohol even once are more likely to suffer from hyperactivity, study shows

Children of mothers who drink as little as four units of alcohol in a day even once while pregnant are at greater risk of developing mental health problems and doing less well at school, new research claims.

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New Jersey mother fights for removal from abuse registry over prescribed methadone use during pregnancy

Woman in appeals after being found culpable of abuse and neglect of unborn baby despite being supervised by doctor

A mother in New Jersey is fighting to have her name removed from the child abuse register after she was found culpable of abuse and neglect of her unborn baby because she took methadone during pregnancy, even though the treatment was prescribed and supervised by a doctor.

The woman, identified only as YN in court documents, has protested the abuse finding to the New Jersey supreme court, the highest judicial panel in the state. On Monday the courts six justices considered the legal arguments behind her censure.

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Anti-abortion websites masquerade as pregnancy counsellors

Womens health groups concerned that women are being misled about mortality rates, suicide and drug taking

Anti-abortion websites posing as objective pregnancy counselling websites are telling women mortality rates for women 10 years after having an abortion are much higher than for women who give birth to children and linking it with rises in suicide and drug taking. The claims have no credible scientific backing.

The websites, easily found through Google, say they are run by independent or non-biased organisations but have an anti-abortion agenda.

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