‘We have learned to have low expectations’: why can’t British hospitals serve better food?

After spending years in and out of hospital with my daughter, I know the patients’ food isn’t usually very good. But does it have to be this way?

I haven’t had sex with my husband for three years – and I’m ready to look elsewhere

It’s not that I want anyone else, but I just can’t wait. I really miss the fabulous sex life we used to have together

It’s taken me 20 years, but I’ve finally updated my to-do list

Enough is enough. It’s time to stop worrying about James Dyson, Victoria’s Secret and Jilly Cooper, writes Zoe Williams

Why discovering your ancestral roots can help you to truly feel like yourself

Since the age of six Greta Solomon knew she was a writer, but gained a richer sense of self when she discovered her ancestors were gifted storytellers too

By assuming I am incompetent at everything, I’m making it so much worse

I call this state of being next-level incompetence. By doubting everything I do – from where I put a book to whether I picked up my medication – I cause chaos

Do you want kids? It’s finally OK to simply say no

If birth rates are falling it could be down to choosing childlessness, rather than economics or infertility

Why pickles and ice-cream? The science of strangely specific pregnancy cravings

Salty or sweet, nutritional or not – there may be hankerings for unexpected foods when pregnant, but beware the old adage of eating for two

How we met: ‘We were at the circus, talking nonsense in the queue for the toilets. I really liked her’

Lara and Claire, both 57, got chatting on a night out in 2014. They’ve been close friends ever since

I’ve pushed it up hills, on to trams and around possum poo – but now I must farewell our faithful pram

I’ve been preparing my daughter for the fact she’ll have to use an alternate mode of transport: her legs

My father, a handful of spoons and his journey into dementia

Looking through old cutlery was a safe haven for my dad after he became lost in ‘dementia land’

Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives review – fresh take on pregnant-woman-in-peril horror

Unfolding in what looks like a single take, Thomas Sieben sends his protagonist into a house that’s haunted by historical trauma

A moment that changed me: partying was my personality – until I helped my 16-year-old sister give birth

During her pregnancy she taught me so much about resilience, self-reliance and strength. It inspired me to veer off the reckless path I was on

Do you strive to be in control of your life? It might be holding you back …

Beyond being in or out of control, there is an alternative – and it’s one of the building blocks to living well

As our friends with kids become grandparents, it reignites the sadness of being childless not by choice

At times we fear a future without the anchor of family. But love bombs from the many children in our life can be great defibrillators for a blown-up heart

Air pollution harms male fertility while women face similar risk from noise, study finds

Environmental pollutants may have different effects on male and female reproduction, research in BMJ suggests