Birth classes

Fears for mothers as hospitals up the ante for birth classes

NATASHA WALLACE The cost of antenatal classes should be means-tested and made uniform across all hospitals, according to the Australian College of Midwives.

Opinion

Birth: a woman's right to decide?

JUSTINE CAINES The maternity reforms had the ability to place women as the focus of care, rather than the current practice of meeting the needs of organisations and practitioners first. Justine Caines, founder of What Women Want, shares her views on the proposed maternity reforms.

Features archive

Miscarriage - one woman's story of grief, loss and growth

REBECCA MAR YOUNG Miscarriage. It’s one of those things you hear about and hope doesn’t happen to you. But when it does you realise how devastating it is and what a silent grief it has become, because for some reason, our culture doesn’t quite know how to cope with it.

Coalition to offer six months off to parents

PHILLIP COOREY A six-month scheme of paid parental leave and plans to extend to nannies similar pay and conditions as childcare workers are at the heart of a Coalition policy being designed to woo family and female voters.

Home birth program that delivers

KATE BENSON It took Bailey Mannion only 75 minutes to slip calmly into the world, amid the comforts of his own loungeroom, unaware he was quietly making history.

Rise in induced births worries doctors

KATE BENSON One in three pregnant women in NSW has her labour induced - a rise of at least 15 per cent in the past 10 years - with almost half of inductions done without a medical reason.

Survey Results

EB members' feedback on our maternity system

EB members express their concerns regarding the Australian maternity system and we examine the key issues for those entering the birthing experience.

Heavy metals raise risk of penis defects

JULIE ROBOTHAM Pregnant women who work in occupations that may bring them into contact with heavy metals are at more than double the usual risk of having a baby boy with hypospadias - a birth defect linked to hormone changes in which the opening of the penis is on the shaft instead of the tip.

Genetic screening

Designing principles at birth of a new era

Advances in gene technology are creating a host of ethical dilemmas, writes Rachel Browne. Genetic screening of human embryos may eventually eradicate inherited diseases ranging from breast cancer to cystic fibrosis.

Concerning results

Many still believe depression comes with motherhood

JENNIE CURTIN Most people think depression is a ''normal'' part of pregnancy and women do not need treatment, according to a survey by the mental health group beyondblue.

Missing out on brain food puts kids at risk

STEPHEN CAUCHI An overwhelming majority of children do not eat enough fish, placing them at risk of heart disease, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and retarded brain development, new research says.

Multiple Birth Resources

Books, websites and EB articles to guide you through the life-giving process of multiple births.

News archive

Being obese no big deal, say pregnant women

JORDAN BAKER Obesity could now be "so common it is perceived as normal", an Australian researcher says after a survey of pregnant women showed many were oblivious to being overweight. The Brisbane study involved 412 women and it found 30 per cent were either overweight or obese before they fell pregnant.

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Features archive

Six tips for spending the holidays with your in-laws

JENNA D. BARRY The way I see it, there are two groups of people: those who love the holidays because they love spending time with family, and those who dread the holidays because their family-- or spouse's family-- is difficult to be around.

Eight month financial plan for baby

WILSON AND ANALAURA LUNA Combining their own experience of raising a family with their financial knowledge, husband and wife financial planning team, Wilson and Analaura Luna, have written an eight month baby financial plan.

News archive

Blood worth banking on, say parents

JILL STARK More people want to be able to store their baby's umbilical cord blood, believing it could one day be a lifesaver. .

News archive

Maternity leave can still lead to sacking

KIRSTY NEEDHAM Women are being sacked for taking maternity leave and told to quit if they cannot juggle family and the work roster, the Fair Work Ombudsman's office has found.

News archive

Birth rights

JOHN VAN TIGGELEN In many countries, home births are commonplace - and generally regarded as safe. So why in Australia, where such births are rare, is the Government discouraging the practice? John van Tiggelen investigates.

Nuture Birth Support

Childbirth classes - do I really need them?

DONNA SHEPPARD-WRIGHT If it’s so natural – why do I have to prepare for it? Childbirth educator Donna shares her insight.