‘I brainwashed myself with the internet’ Nearly 45 weeks pregnant, she wanted a “freebirth” with no doctors. Online groups convinced her it would be OK.

By Andrew D. Zimbelman / for NBC News Feb. 21, 2020 By February 2019, Judith had become unbearably anxious. The 28-year-old Pacific coast native’s due date had come and gone. Just two days shy of 45 weeks pregnant, her belly was stretched so far that it shined, her body was swollen, and nearly everything — … Continue reading ‘I brainwashed myself with the internet’ Nearly 45 weeks pregnant, she wanted a “freebirth” with no doctors. Online groups convinced her it would be OK. →

Finland’s Women-Led Government Has Equalized Family Leave: 7 Months For Each Parent

By Laurel Wamsley. NPR. Feb. 5, 2020. People often ponder how the world might be different if more women were in political power. In Finland, where women lead the five parties in the coalition government, here's one change they're making: equal paid leave for both parents in a family. Finland's government, led by 34-year-old Prime … Continue reading Finland’s Women-Led Government Has Equalized Family Leave: 7 Months For Each Parent →

New Trump administration rule could make it more difficult for some pregnant women to get U.S. visas

By Carol Morello, Abigail Hauslohner and Maria Sacchetti The Washington Post. Jan. 22, 2020 The U.S. State Department plans to issue new guidance that could make it more difficult for some pregnant women to obtain visas to visit the United States, a department official and a congressional aide said Wednesday. The forthcoming regulations are aimed at cracking … Continue reading New Trump administration rule could make it more difficult for some pregnant women to get U.S. visas →

A MIDWIFE IN THE NORTH COUNTRY

By Emily Bobrow The New Yorker. December 22, 2019 The sun was still rising on a brisk Monday morning in October last year when Sunday Smith, a midwife in New York’s North Country, pulled into the gravel driveway of a small dairy farm, scattering some chickens. She had driven for about ninety minutes, along dark … Continue reading A MIDWIFE IN THE NORTH COUNTRY →

It’s a boy! Philly-area couple and Penn Medicine celebrate first birth from uterine transplant program

by Marie McCullough, Jan. 9, 2020 The Philadelphia Inquirer Jennifer and Drew Gobrecht are barely exaggerating when they call their son “a perfect miracle." Benjamin Thomas Gobrecht was conceived using in vitro fertilization and grew inside a womb that was transplanted into his mother more than a year ago at the Hospital of the … Continue reading It’s a boy! Philly-area couple and Penn Medicine celebrate first birth from uterine transplant program →

Giving birth in America now costs more than a woman earns in a month

BY IRINA IVANOVA. CBS News. JANUARY 8, 2020 / 5:28 PM / MONEYWATCH The cost of giving birth in America has skyrocketed in recent years — even for women with employer health insurance. A major study looking at women with employer-provided health insurance found that the average new mom spent $4,500 out-of-pocket to give birth in … Continue reading Giving birth in America now costs more than a woman earns in a month →

Frustration, depression, rage, and pockets of joy: A diary of one woman’s first 30 days of motherhood

We asked a first-time mom to record her thoughts, feelings and actions during the early days of her newborn’s life Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. The Lilly This article is part of the Lily Lines newsletter. You can sign up here to get it delivered twice a week to your inbox. Illustrations by Ross May. After months … Continue reading Frustration, depression, rage, and pockets of joy: A diary of one woman’s first 30 days of motherhood →