A UNICEF report estimates that hundreds of thousands of babies in South Asia alone have died because of the inability of pregnant women to get appropriate care. India is seeking solutions.
An inexpensive drug called misoprostol can prevent fatal hemorrhage. But experts say fears of its use for abortion have kept it out of the hands of the women who need it.
Preparers of pills made from placental tissue have gained online momentum, claiming to support each new mom in her slog to recovery. A historian traces the trend to a mother's need to be heard.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, known for her work in war zones, turns to a topic that is often shied away from: the risks women face when giving birth.
Nitrous oxide is making a comeback for pain relief during childbirth. But charges for the option vary from free at some hospitals to thousands of dollars at others.
A woman's health issues related to pregnancy don't always end at the baby's birth. Scientists say complications from childbirth, such as hypertension or diabetes, increase her risk of heart disease.
Hillary Frank struggled after a childbirth injury left her in chronic pain for months. Her podcast The Longest Shortest Time, and her book Weird Parenting Wins aim to give other parents a voice.
Incarcerated pregnant women are often shackled during medical appointments and childbirth. A provision in a criminal justice bill aims to end the practice in federal facilities.
A woman had twins in a hospital south of Boston last summer. For doctors aiming to reduce cesareans, the second baby's tricky arrival tested the limits of teamwork.
After a C-section, does swabbing a baby with the mother's microbes reduce the risk of obesity and other health problems later in life? An ambitious study to help answer the question is underway.
There's no benefit to delaying pushing after receiving epidural anesthesia and reaching full dilation. A delay increases the risk of complications, particularly for the mother, a large study finds.
A new formulation of an old drug could save tens of thousands of women each year, the World Health Organization says, by preventing them from bleeding to death after labor.
Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange, will exclude hospitals from insurance networks if they don't reduce their numbers of C-sections, back scans and opioid prescriptions.
Josephine Majani passed out searching for help as she delivered her baby on a the floor of a hospital in Kenya. She hopes her case will push for reforms in treatment of women during childbirth.
In more than a dozen U.S. states, laws prohibit pregnant teens from getting epidural anesthesia during labor, or even some kinds of prenatal treatment, without a parent's consent.
African-American women are more likely to lose a baby in the first year of life than women of any other race. Scientists think that stress from racism makes their bodies and babies more vulnerable.
A woman who received a uterus transplant recently delivered a healthy baby boy. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with the doctors working on the experiment about its ethics, risk, and cost implications.
I'm a doctor, and I oversee public health programs to help new mothers and infants. When my son was born, I discovered just how vitally important that help is.
Wildfires that spread quickly in Northern California meant that hospitals had to evacuate on the fly. One woman in the middle of childbirth tells her story.
Ohio is one of 13 states without a policy allowing a minor to consent, on her own, to pregnancy-linked health care. That means teens who go into labor are sometimes denied epidurals.
