GP Phoebe Holdenson Kimura reports on what to expect when coming off the pill and 5 things to do before you do “The pill” (the combined oral contraceptive pill) has been giving Australian women control over their reproductive health since the 1960s and remains the most...
Vicki Englund finds herself on the outer in a community of much younger mothers. It’s funny when you look back on the things about motherhood you hadn’t anticipated. When my husband and I decided to try to have a baby, at rather advanced ages on both...
Researchers Hannah Dahlen, Christine Rubertsson and Malin Edqvist look at 7 ways to reduce perineal tearing during childbirth While most expectant mothers are excited, many are also anxious about giving birth, especially first-time mothers. Perineal trauma is something many expectant mums are fearful about. It is hard...
None of us would be here without our placenta, the remarkable fetal organ that nourished and sustained us before birth. But despite its importance, the placenta is among the least studied organs and we don’t fully understand how it grows and functions, reports Alys Clark...
Camilla Nelson How one woman’s traumatic experience drove her investigation into pregnancy and mental health Years ago, a friend told me how, a week or two after giving birth, she had been gripped by the idea that her baby had been abducted by aliens. Hearing this,...
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...
5 things research from twins taught us about health, behaviour and what makes us unique, reports Jeffrey Craig Researchers often compare the differences between identical and fraternal twins to better understand health and behaviour. The first major insight is that genes and environments almost always combine to...
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...
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...
