Women these days are taking longer to give birth than in the 1960s. According to recent research, one of the main reasons is greater levels of medical intervention, specifically the use of epidural anaesthesia. The research is based on the childbirth experiences of women in the United States. I can remember watching an episode of ...
Controversy has erupted over women’s bodies in Britain this week. Pregnant women’s bodies, in particular. In other words, a very personal time in a woman’s life, yet one that causes all manner of people to come out of the woodwork with advice, opinions and unsolicited touching of the bump. A new report by the National ...
It was inevitable that there were difficulties, but luckily, they were mostly technical. Nancy Salgueiro successfully delivered a six pound, 10 ounce boy at 3:18 a.m on Sunday. It was live-streamed online, as it happened, to an audience of 2000 people. She is a childbirth educator and wanted to share her experience to dispel some ...
Another medical group has said that women should not have the right to home birth in certain circumstances. There is so much condescension among doctors towards pregnant women I have to wonder where it will all end. Will they be caged like animals and monitored by nicotine and alcohol bracelets like criminals? The Lancet, a ...
The current trend of women delaying childbirth until their 30s and even 40s on a regular basis has impacts for society as a whole. One of these may be that we will evolve to have children naturally at a later age. Personally, I’m skeptical. Researchers at the University of Sheffield studied marriage and birth trends since the ...
Choosing to give birth at home is often considered dangerous because of the problems that might arise. But many women want to avoid unnecessary medical interventions and be in an environment where they feel they have control. But do they really have control? And is it really a safe option? There have been few studies into ...
The World Health Organization has withdrawn its recommendation that no more than 10 to 15 per cent of babies be born by Caesarean section. Is this a silent acknowledgment that c-sections are a legitimate alternative to a natural birth? I certainly hope not. The number of Caesarean sections in the world is climbing, and in ...
It’s that time of year, when spring blossoms counteract the car pollution, beer gardens are filled with humans on...
The latest film in the American Pie series, American Reunion, contains a shocking scene – male full-frontal nudity including...
Dear Madame X, I have just started seeing this girl. She seems great, but she recently told me she...
Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved arrived in my hands via a public library, when I was a broke teenager with...
My attention was drawn this week to an article about the reaction at a Canadian university to proposals to...
Airport security. Bloody nuisance. Also a conspiracy designed to subjugate women. Allow me to elaborate. Despite flying quite a...
The Cannes film festival has kicked off this week with controversy over the lack of films made by women...
Dear Madame X, I seem to be only attracted to men who are macho assholes. I like them at...
