Reproduction and Contraception
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Complex truth of pregnancy remains shrouded in taboos Opinion
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Pregnancy continues to be portrayed through rosy lenses, while the true, sometimes nightmarish side of it remains hidden away.
Topics: pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, womens-health, health, women, community-and-society, australia
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Surrogacy booming in Australia despite legal issues
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Surrogacy is experiencing a quiet boom in Australia after several Asian countries banned foreigners from paying women to carry babies for them.
Topics: surrogacy, reproduction-and-contraception, health, laws, law-crime-and-justice, australia
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Mothers desperate for a daughter break silence on 'gender disappointment'
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Critics call it a social construct, but venture into some online chatrooms and you'll find hundreds of Australian women who suffer "gender disappointment" — depression over the sex of their children.
Topics: fertility-and-infertility, reproduction-and-contraception, health, parenting, family-and-children, community-and-society, women, womens-health, australia
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Pregnant asylum seeker on Nauru flown to Australia
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A heavily pregnant woman being held at the offshore processing centre on Nauru is flown to Australia for treatment at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
Topics: refugees, health, immigration, community-and-society, government-and-politics, federal-government, reproduction-and-contraception, pregnancy-and-childbirth, australia, nauru
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NSW Minister for Women Tanya Davies says she is pro-life. Video
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New South Wales' new Minister for Women Tanya Davies has come under fire for her pro-life stance on her first day in the job.
Topics: abortion, reproduction-and-contraception, health, religion-and-beliefs, community-and-society, government-and-politics, state-parliament, parliament, nsw
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NSW Minister for Women under fire for pro-life stance
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New South Wales' Minister for Women Tanya Davies endures a tough first day in the job after being grilled over her pro-life views.
Topics: abortion, reproduction-and-contraception, health, womens-health, religion-and-beliefs, community-and-society, women, government-and-politics, state-parliament, parliament, nsw, sydney-2000
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Can you be feminist and pro-life? The question misses the point Opinion
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Feminist stories about abortion should be told to expose the pressure, coercion and abuse that can underscore reproductive decision-making in the first place, writes Rachel Hirsch.
Topics: reproduction-and-contraception, abortion, womens-health, domestic-violence, feminism
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Netherlands launches global abortion fund to counter Trump cuts
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The Netherlands launches a global fund to help women access abortion services to compensate for US President Donald Trump's ban on federal funding for foreign groups providing abortions abroad.
Topics: health, reproduction-and-contraception, abortion, world-politics, netherlands
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First baby born under publicly funded ACT homebirth trial
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A trial of publicly funded home births in the ACT sees its first delivery, but critics of the program maintain it places mother and child at increased risk.
Topics: pregnancy-and-childbirth, babies---newborns, family-and-children, infant-health, reproduction-and-contraception, canberra-2600, act, australia
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Reflux drug Nexium could help treat deadly pre-eclampsia
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Researchers stumble across a major breakthrough in their quest to treat the potentially fatal pregnancy complication pre-eclampsia.
Topics: pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, health, babies, babies---newborns, family-and-children, community-and-society, australia
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Trump reinstates global abortion gag rule
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US President Donald Trump reinstates a rule that bans US-funded groups around the world from discussing abortion, a move which has dismayed women's rights advocates.
Topics: abortion, reproduction-and-contraception, health, world-politics, united-states
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Expectant mothers on NSW mid-north coast six times more likely to smoke than Sydney counterparts
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A report finds more than 13 per cent of expectant mothers in the region smoke during the second half of their pregnancy.
Topics: smoking, pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, coffs-harbour-2450
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More Queensland women choose midwives to deliver babies (photos)
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There is a dramatic increase in the number of Queensland women choosing midwives to manage the birth of their babies, despite doctors' concerns about the risks.
Topics: pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, health, healthcare-facilities, womens-health, doctors-and-medical-professionals, people, qld, brisbane-4000, australia
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South Korean website draws ire for mapping women of childbearing age
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South Korea's Government closes a website after it draws fury for showing the number of women in childbearing age by each city district and region.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, womens-health, health, pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, korea-republic-of, asia
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Evolution not the driving force behind increased C-sections, midwife says
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A midwifery expert says evolution is not the primary reason for an increase in C-sections, after a study linked the procedure to the growing size of the human brain.
Topics: pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, health, womens-health, women, evolution, science-and-technology, australia, united-states
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Female cricketers' pregnancy clause may not be legal: experts
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Cricket Australia confirms it does ask its female players to sign a contract saying they are not pregnant, with experts and industry members suggesting the clause may not be legal.
Topics: cricket, sport, pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, health, women, community-and-society, australia
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Woman has 'miracle' baby using ovary frozen in childhood
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A 24-year-old woman whose ovaries were damaged during chemotherapy gives birth to a healthy baby boy after doctors restored her fertility using ovarian tissue preserved when she was nine.
Topics: family-and-children, pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, science-and-technology, health, medical-research, united-kingdom
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Autism linked to lack of vitamin D during pregnancy, study finds
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An analysis of more than 4,000 blood samples from pregnant women and their children finds women with low vitamin D are more likely to have children with autistic traits by the age of six.
Topics: autism-spectrum-disorder, diseases-and-disorders, health, medical-research, reproduction-and-contraception, pregnancy-and-childbirth, qld, australia
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Abortion drug one step closer for Territory women
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The Northern Territory's abortion laws are being brought into line with the rest of the country, as the Government moves to legalise use of abortion drugs outside hospitals along with a suite of other changes that are being heralded as respecting women's choices.
Topics: abortion, reproduction-and-contraception, womens-health, government-and-politics, laws, darwin-0800
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Financial abortion: Should men be able to 'opt out' of parenthood?
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Women's lives look markedly different when they are able to decide if and when they become parents. Shouldn't men be given the same opportunity?
Topics: abortion, men, relationships, parenting, laws, health, reproduction-and-contraception, australia
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The price of life: Push to make commercial surrogacy legal in Australia
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There is significant support in Australia for commercial surrogacy to be legalised and professional guidelines drawn up to regulate the industry, a study finds.
Topics: surrogacy, reproduction-and-contraception, health, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia, cambodia
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Cambodia offers amnesty so Australians can collect surrogate babies
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Cambodia is offering a limited amnesty to Australians who have paid for surrogacy services, saying they can collect their babies without fear of arrest.
Topics: pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, health, government-and-politics, law-crime-and-justice, world-politics, cambodia, australia
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Mothers of children born with Down syndrome say they were pressured to terminate their pregnancy. Video
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Mothers of children born with Down syndrome say they were put under repeated pressure to terminate their pregnancy and given only worst case scenarios for their baby's chances of a meaningful life.
Topics: reproduction-and-contraception, pregnancy-and-childbirth, health, reproduction-and-contraception, disabilities, abortion, australia, vic, tas
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Parents feel pressured to terminate pregnancy after Down syndrome diagnosis
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Mothers of children born with Down syndrome say they were put under repeated pressure to terminate their pregnancy and given only worst case scenarios for their baby's chances of a meaningful life.
Topics: pregnancy-and-childbirth, reproduction-and-contraception, health, disabilities, australia, launceston-7250, tas, mornington-3931, vic
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Pope extends power to forgive abortion to all priests
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Pope Francis extends indefinitely to all Roman Catholic priests the power to forgive abortion — a right previously reserved for bishops or special confessors in most parts of the world.
Topics: catholic, abortion, women, reproduction-and-contraception, holy-see-vatican-city-state
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