Maxine Clark’s son begins to ponder the more obvious markers of his Jamaican heritage. “Your mum’s brown,” a little girl at my son’s childcare centre announced matter-of-factly to him when I arrived to pick him up last week. It wasn’t a criticism; it wasn’t an insult....
Researchers Anthea Lindquist and Stephen Tong report that vaginal birth after caesarean increases the risk of serious perineal tear by 20%, their large-scale review shows Pregnant women who previously birthed by caesarean section are presented with a choice: whether to try for a vaginal birth, or...
In the war of wills with her children, Gemma Rolleman has learnt to pick her battles. Last night, my seven-year-old daughter regurgitated a spoonful of my carefully prepared risotto back onto her plate. “Yuck,” she spluttered, her nose wrinkled, “that’s disgusting.” I half expected the reaction....
When I first became a mother in 2013, Carla Pascoe Leahy reports, I realised my experiences of motherhood did not match the kinds of messages circulating around me. As a society we talk about motherhood either in cheesy sentimentalities – think of gift catalogues for Mother’s...
At age 35, one in four Australian women and one in three men were hoping to have a child or more children in the future, writes Karin Hammarberg. But by age 49, about half report they haven’t yet had the number of children they hoped...
Public bottle-feeding feels like public stoning to Megan Howe. I admit it. I’m embarrassed to feed my baby in public. I try to time outings so I don’t need to feed while I’m out shopping or at the doctors’ surgery or at the park. But it’s...
The latest Australian data indicates that the number of human egg-freezing cycles performed each year has increased more than 1000% from 2010 to 2019, reports Molly Johnston Despite this, egg freezing remains prohibitively expensive, with a single cycle costing up to $10,000. Due to these costs,...
Kasey Edwards believes that it is perfectly understandable why many women grapple with motherhood. I love my daughter, but sometimes I really don’t like being a mother. There. I said it. Unleash the torrents of hate mail. When I was struggling to conceive, I would have wanted...
Half of women over 35 who want a child don’t end up having one, or have fewer than they planned, writes Karin Hammarberg. At age 35, one in four Australian women and one in three men were hoping to have a child or more children in...
Just don’t douche! write Naomi Strout and Mathew Leonardi. Researchers in the UK recently discovered a rapid test that checks the vaginal microbiome and can detect risks of preterm birth. Usually, tests to check the microbiome are complicated and it takes a long time to get...
