‘The model is not working’: midwives navigate legal limbo as they save lives

Lack of legislation leaves midwives vulnerable to prosecution as home births rise amid growing maternal mortality rates

Star August Ali has become used to living in legal limbo.

Ali, the first Black certified professional midwife in the state of Illinois, helps women give birth within the comfort of their homes. As she recalls in a new Guardian documentary, With Woman, Ali knows first-hand how harrowing it can be to give birth without the right kind of support. She gave birth to one child in a hospital, as she said providers ignored her cries for help. She gave birth to another unassisted.

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Smoking in pregnancy increases risk of premature birth threefold, study finds

Risk of smoking double the previous estimate, but research finds no link between above average caffeine intake and pre-term babies

Drinking some tea and coffee does not harm babies, but smoking is twice as bad as previously thought, according to new research.

The NHS recommends that pregnant women should drink no more than 200mg of caffeine a day, equivalent to two cups of instant coffee or tea. They should also stop smoking. This is because drinking large amounts of caffeine and smoking have been associated with increased risk of pregnancy complications, premature birth and foetal growth restriction.

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Stillbirths in UK rose in 2021 for first time in seven years

A report suggests widening inequalities as black babies and those from deprived backgrounds more likely to be stillborn

Stillbirths have risen for the first time in seven years, with striking increases seen in babies of black ethnicity and from the most deprived backgrounds.

The findings in the perinatal mortality report from the group Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries (MBRRACE-UK) highlight widening inequalities, with babies of black ethnicity more than twice as likely to be stillborn compared with white babies. Overall, stillbirths in 2021 (the most recent data reported by hospitals) increased to 3.54 per 1,000 from 3.33 per 1,000 in 2020, ending the year-on-year reduction across the UK since 2013.

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In our blood: how the US allowed toxic chemicals to seep into our lives

Experts say that the majority of the 86,000 consumer chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency have never received vigorous toxicity testing

• This article is co-published with the Examination, a new non-profit newsroom specializing in global health reporting

For decades, it was the secret behind the magic show of homemaking across the US. Applied to a pan, it could keep a fried egg from sticking to the surface. Soaked into a carpet, it could shrug off spills of red wine. Sprayed onto shoes and coats, it could keep the kids dry on a rainy day.

But the most clandestine maneuver of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, was much less endearing: seeping into the blood and organs of hundreds of millions of people who used products containing the chemical.

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New mothers may have enhanced ability to see faces in objects

Higher oxytocin levels could be why women find it easier to spot facial features in inanimate objects after having baby, say researchers

Whether it’s seeing Jesus in burnt toast, a goofy grin in the grooves of a cheese grater, or simply the man in the moon, humans have long perceived faces in unlikely places.

Now researchers say the tendency may not be fixed in adults, suggesting it appears to be enhanced in women who have just given birth.

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This is how we do it: ‘Since trying for a baby, Wordle has become a fixture of our pre-sex routine’

A baby mindset has made Jim and Evie’s sex life more functional than pleasurable. But they’re finding new ways to get into the mood

How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

If my ovulation window falls on a Wednesday and I’ve had a terrible work week, I’ll initiate sex regardless, but it won’t come from a place of lust

Sex became something we had to do because we got pinged by an app

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Sharp rise in wait times for perinatal mental health care in England

Exclusive: New and expectant mothers left to ‘suffer in silence’ as demand outstrips supply

Campaigners have expressed alarm at new analysis showing a sharp increase in new or expectant mothers waiting for mental health care, with one woman found to have waited 319 days for a first appointment.

More than 30,000 women who are pregnant or have newly given birth are on waiting lists for mental health support, according to NHS England data analysed by Labour, with the party saying many of them were being left to “suffer in silence”.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. You can contact the mental health charity Mind by calling 0300 123 3393 or visiting mind.org.uk

In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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