The heel prick test will now be accompanied by testing for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare muscle-wasting condition that can potentially lead to a child's death by the age of two.
I wanted to create a space where practicing specialists in obstetrics and gynecology could literally drive ourselves to a community that needed practitioners, pop open and see folks the way that we see them in our offices.
The human maternal-fetal interface (MFI) is a transient hemi-allogeneic amalgam in which maternal decidual stromal cells (DSCs) support placental attachment, recruit immune cells and create a tolerogenic milieu for patterning fetal cytotrophoblast invasion.
Sofii Lewis described her experience, stating, "I knew I wasn't safe. But I didn't think I was out of control." This highlights the confusion many face with postpartum psychosis.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act protects pregnant employees from workplace discrimination based on your pregnancy. Additionally, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires your employer to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions. For maternity leave, the Family and Medical Leave Act (federal law) entitles eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave following childbirth if you've worked at your company for at least a year.
While noting women 'were treated with kindness and compassion', a 'requires improvement' rating was given. Inspectors said hospital management 'did not always support staff well-being' and 'were not always visible within the service and were sometimes perceived as unsupportive'. Staff reported they were confident to report incidents, however, were not always assured action would be taken.
I attended A&E multiple times complaining of pain, tachycardia (increased heart rate), sickness - I couldn't keep anything down... but they didn't listen. Angel-Kay Mason fell pregnant with her daughter in June 2022 aged 19. Due to a family history of complex pregnancies, she says she was deemed to be high-risk but says she was not referred to a consultant and did not receive any extra scans.
A baby born after their mother was hit by an e-bike in Poole on Monday is in a serious condition in hospital, Dorset Police said. The rider of the e-bike failed to stop at the scene, and police told The Independent that no arrests have been made. The mother, a woman in her thirties, also attended the hospital for treatment after the e-bike collided with her on Herbert Avenue, near the junction with Manor Avenue.
The soft, flexible, robotic probe could dramatically improve safety during fetal surgeries, procedures in which physicians operate on a fetus before birth. Currently, doctors primarily rely on intermittent measurements of fetal heart rate using ultrasound imaging from outside the pregnant person's body. The new device, on the other hand, can be gently inserted through the same narrow port already used in fetal surgeries.
Lisa Watson suffers the devastating effects of incontinence daily, and believes mid-urethral surgery, otherwise known as vaginal mesh surgery, could change everything. The surgery was paused in Ireland in 2018, and she is calling for the pause to be lifted By anyone's standards, Lisa Watson is a busy woman. During the week, the Wicklow-based mum of two is a credit union risk manager and at weekends she puts on her make-up artist hat.
Balancing a nursing career with family life means thinking a few steps ahead, without blowing everything up in the process. Many experienced nurses reach a stage where growth needs to be practical, not disruptive. The appeal lies in finding ways to widen responsibility and keep doors open while staying employable across different settings, all while working around real-world schedules and family commitments. It is less about chasing status and more about building a future that still works on a Tuesday afternoon.
Anna af Ugglas, chief executive of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and one of the study's authors, said: Nearly 1 million missing midwives means health systems are stretched beyond capacity, midwives are overworked and underpaid, and care becomes rushed and fragmented. Intervention rates rise, and women are more likely to experience poor-quality care or mistreatment, she said. This is not only a workforce issue, it is a quality and safety issue for women and babies.
When I first found out I was pregnant, I did what most moms do-I started researching. I wanted to make the best possible choices for my baby and myself, and giving birth in a hospital just didn't feel like the safest option. So many women do it, but the more I learned, the more I realized that the reality of hospital birth in the U.S. is even less reassuring than I had thought. I wanted to birth at home.
Then, in November 2025, our international shame. The Pan American Health Organization revoked Canada's measles elimination status, following more than a year of sustained transmission of the same strain. We'd eliminated the virus in 1998 and held onto the status for twenty-seven years owing to a safe and effective vaccine, but as vaccine hesitancy grew and vaccination rates dropped, susceptibility to this once-vanquished disease skyrocketed.
Fear of detention or deportation is leading many immigrants to avoid medical appointments, even when those visits are essential. This chilling effect is particularly acute among pregnant individuals, who may delay or forgo prenatal check‑ups out of concern that seeking care could expose them to immigration enforcement. The result is a growing public health crisis: expectant patients are left without consistent medical oversight, and communities face widening disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.