Whooping cough is back, and it’s hitting Australia harder than anyone expected. Case numbers are breaking records that stood for decades. Behind those numbers, a family lost their baby to the illness last year. The same concerning trends are appearing in communities around the world. This isn’t another outbreak statistic. The disease has returned in...

Let’s be honest. When we hear the words “birth control,” we usually think of pills, patches, or IUDs, and most of them are for women. But times are changing, and so is the conversation. Birth control isn’t just a woman’s issue anymore. More men are looking for ways to actively participate in family planning and...

In an extraordinary moment that blends the miracles of science and love, a Tennessee woman made history by giving birth to a baby girl conceived from a frozen embryo that had been stored for 27 years. Tina Gibson, only 29 at the time, delivered a healthy daughter who had technically been waiting to be born...

Our hands are structured in such a way that we can do a lot of things that other mammals can’t. We can hold a pen and pencil and write, open jars and bottles, and do plenty of other tasks thanks to the presence of four fingers and a thumb. All the tools that we use...

She wasn’t pregnant at 4 am (or so she thought) but became a mother several hours later. Klara Dollan spent nine months not knowing she was pregnant until she went into labor and gave birth in her apartment bathroom. Circumstances like hers are known as cryptic pregnancies, a rare but not unheard-of phenomenon. What are...

“All the forces on this planet will never beat that of a mother’s love.” – Elle Smith She didn’t actually believe it was possible that at the age of 60, she could go full-term as a gestational surrogate for her son and his partner. 61-year-old Cecile Eledge from Nebraska, Omaha, desperately wanted to be a...

They say no one is truly prepared for the life-changing experience of childbirth, but no person was as unprepared as this mother. Imagine rushing to the hospital for a kidney stone operation, but as you arrive, you are giving birth — to triplets. This is what happened to Dannette Giltz from South Dakota on August...

Many animal mothers instinctively lick their newborns to clean them. This act of grooming is important for several reasons. One, it removes amniotic fluid, which conducts heat away from the body and warms the baby. Plus, it stimulates the newborn and brings their attention to their mother. Another possibility is that licking removes the smell...

According to a report published by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF), 95 percent of baby foods tested in the United States contain toxic heavy metals. HBBF is a group composed of non-profit organizations, scientists, and donors, and their goal is to reduce babies’ exposure to toxic chemicals in their first 1,000 days of development [2]....

Nancy Ray was certain she was pregnant with a girl. However, after a laborious birth, the parents were shocked by a newborn baby boy. The photo of that moment—full of heart and joy—went viral, but most people don’t know the full story behind it, which includes a heavy snowstorm and two strains of flu as...

We have no control over our birth month. But of the twelve months, if you were born in December, science is on your side. Whether you’re supposed to give birth to a December baby or you are a December baby, we’ve got some good news. December babies are extra special! Many parents have anxiety over...

This article was originally published on February 26, 2019, and has since been updated. An opioid epidemic is affecting millions of newborn babies, nationwide. The National Institute of Drug Abuse reports that a baby is born suffering from opioid withdrawal every fifteen minutes [1]. These babies experience pain and suffering before they can experience anything...