FICTION

Mornings in Jenin Susan Abulhawa Bloomsbury, $32.99

LETTERS

'Department of ignorance' fails us yet again

East Timorese At Severe Risk In Childbirth

WOMEN in East Timor are 380 times more likely to die in childbirth than women in Australia, according to a report that highlights the huge discrepancies in maternal health care across the region.

Mother To Sue After Surgery For Birth Injury Left Her Incontinent

A WOMAN who claims she lost her marriage and was driven to the brink of suicide after being damaged by surgery that was supposed to repair a childbirth injury has been given leave to sue her doctor.

In A Pow's Will, Words To Benefit A Future Generation Of Women

CHILDBIRTH in NSW may be made a little safer in years to come - thanks to a will scribbled out on a scrap of paper 63 years ago in a prisoner of war camp in the final days of World War II.

Family Juggle Too Hard, Say Working Women

WORKING women are delaying childbirth or opting out of parenthood altogether in an attempt to maintain balance in their lives.

Women's Wisdom Born To A New Generation

FOUR nights ago, Diana Setiawan woke in the middle of the night with her first contraction of childbirth.

My Pathological Fear Of Getting Pregnant

An acute phobia about childbirth is deterring some women from becoming mothers, writes Meredith O'Donnell.

Caesareans In Childbirth

Caesareans in childbirth

Old Wives Help Ease Pain Of Childbirth

THEY cost less than 20 cents each and can reduce pain in childbirth by up to 25 per cent but most hospitals are not using them because they are mocked as the stuff of old wives' tales.

Aid Restrictions Are Killing The Women Of East Timor

Australia's near neighbour East Timor has a birth rate of 8.5 per woman and a maternal death rate 20 times that of Australia. It is hardly an unusual case: around the world one woman dies in childbirth every minute. Another 68,000 women die every year as a result of unsafe abortion, which also leaves about 5 million women permanently injured or diseased.

Tips On How To Become A Yummy Mummy

You've weathered the childbirth aftershocks and have been happily cocooned with your snuggly baby for weeks, or even months, now.

My Phd - Sheree Cartwright

Sheree Cartwright is 30 and in the third year of her PhD at RMIT University. She has been following 27 Victorian mothers and mothers-to-be over the past three years. She is interested in their experiences - particularly how they managed child care, family and paid work after childbirth - and whether their pre-birth plans have become reality.

What It Is Like To . . . Deliver A Baby

SCOTT Jones admits his knowledge of childbirth was derived from his university medical textbooks until a prac in the obstetric and gynaecology department landed him in the delivery suite.

Rival Spikes Macfarlane Dream

AUSTRALIAN distance runner Donna MacFarlane described the pain of being spiked just after the start of the 3000-metre steeplechase at the world championships as being worse than childbirth.

Making Out After Baby

How does the arrival of a child affect the parents' libido? In his new book - and with some help from responses to his blog - Sacha Molitorisz discusses sex after childbirth, or lack of it.

No Doctor, No Midwife - Women Go It Alone

The medical profession is concerned about risks of home childbirth, reports Renee Switzer.

An Oasis Of Calm In A World Fraught With Fright

Google "maternity and childbirth" and you will get some lively blogs from mothers' groups like Maternity Coalition backing women in having the sort of birth they desire.

Mothers Don't Have To Die In Childbirth

Australia is filching doctors from other countries who could be staying to help their own people.

The Culture Of Natural Childbirth Is Changing For The Better

Mothers and babies are dying in childbirth for reasons that could be prevented, writes Catherine Deveny.