Reception of oocytes from a partner

Last year, at the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts, feminist icon Germaine Greer scolded gay parents Sir Elton John and David Furnish for naming Furnish as the mother of their two sons on the...

Breastfeeding at home and abroad

Despite all the evidence that breastfeeding is best for babies, many people still hold negative opinions about it For example, Kathryn Blundell—then deputy editor of parenting magazine Mother &...

Body image and pregnancy

According to Skouteris (2012: 664), citing a survey of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ‘body image concerns are largely ignored by physicians working with pregnant women’...

Evidence on exercise in pregnancy

In 2010, marathon world-record holder Paula Radcliffe finished a 10 km charity run while 7 months pregnant In 2011, Amber Miller completed the Chicago Marathon in 6 hours 25 minutes, and 7 hours later...

Considering genetic modification

In September 2015, it was reported that researchers at London's Francis Crick Institute (2015) had sought permission from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to use so-called ‘gene...

Working together to prevent female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a form of abuse against women and girls (HM Government, 2014) The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNICEF, 1989: 8) states that: ‘Parties shall take all...

Decisions around vaccination

‘We can't change the past but this vaccine will change people's futures’ These were the words of Kelly Mellor, whose daughter contracted meningococcal disease when she was 11 months old, quoted in a...

Handwashing and infections

In May 1847, Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818–1865) showed by experiment that handwashing could prevent infections (Noakes et al, 2008) He instigated a hand-washing regime at the maternity clinic of the...

The ethics surrounding older mothers

In May 2015 a 65-year-old German single mother of 13, Annegret Raunigk, gave birth to quads One might have thought that this qualified Ms Raunigk as the world's oldest mother, but a BBC News report...

Early intervention programmes for mental health from the NSPCC: Part 2

Early interventions for antenatal mental health difficulties Midwives have a critical role to play in not only identifying women with mental health difficulties but also in referring them on to...

‘What's it like being a male midwife?’

Antenatal screening and early-intervention: A mental health update from the NSPCC

For both mothers and fathers, pregnancy and the birth of a baby are periods of transition and changing roles, and it is a life-stage that is widely acknowledged as a time of heightened stress for new...