‘It comes for your very soul’: how Alzheimer’s undid my dazzling, creative wife in her 40s

The long read: By the time my wife got a diagnosis, her long and harrowing deterioration had already begun. By the end, I was in awe of her

Maybe baby: could a fertility coach help you make an easier parenting decision?

Queer families, rising infertility, choosing to go it alone or not at all – the landscape of baby-making is shifting. Amelia Abraham meets a fertility coach to help make up her mind – well, almost

Five kids in a home gym, mother and daughter cricketers and a karate trio – meet the families who work out together

They strengthen muscles – and family bonds. Six sets of relatives who train as a team explain the appeal

I’m an expert on adolescence: here’s why a smartphone ban isn’t the answer, and what we should do instead

Jonathan Haidt’s bestselling book blames social media for a decline in teenage mental health. But is he right?

Water births do not increase risk of complications, study finds

Using a water pool during labour for low-risk pregnancies is as safe as giving birth out of water, research shows

Night-time is an intoxicating new land: how learning to love the dark eased my grief

From magical moonlit swims to midnight hikes, Annabel Abbs decided to embrace her insomnia by embarking on a series of ‘night journeys’

I’d do anything to make my autistic daughter happy – but I feel like a walking mum-fail

There is an intense emotional strain involved with parenting a neurodivergent child with mental health issues. But we will do whatever it takes to understand her brain

‘The darkest period of my life’: I struggled to breastfeed – then a drug sent me spiralling

The anti-sickness medicine domperidone is increasingly being prescribed or bought illegally to aid lactation. Yet, as I discovered too late, side-effects can include anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts

Should we follow Lily Allen – and let our partner control our smartphone?

Allen’s husband decides the apps she is allowed to use and she decides his. It’s one of many approaches people are taking to try to ditch social media and unbreak their brains, writes Arwa Mahdawi

Pillows, playlists and a gentle push… My birth plan was a joke

We all start our journey into motherhood with a Plan A for the birth, but wouldn’t it be helpful if we had a Plan B or C or even D?

Cold review – theatrically evocative folk-tale treatment of the pain of miscarriage

A man spins a story in a doctor’s waiting room, sparking a fairy tale of loss and desperation

‘I felt myself split into before and after’: how giving birth triggered a life-changing illness

Having a baby led to an unexpected disease and then surgery that altered Lauren Bensted’s body for ever. She talks about the pain she felt in being separated from her newborn, and her journey to learn to accept her new life

‘Why has my uterus fallen into my vagina?’: Emily Oster’s new book demystifies common pregnancy complications

The Unexpected, the latest book by the economics professor, examines the uncomfortable and embarrassing parts of pregnancy that no one talks about

Becoming a mother was impossibly hard during Covid. Has anything changed since?

Rates are improving in the US as healthcare organizations take steps to confront the continuing crisis. Still, new mothers often feel alone: ‘People don’t know what to do’

Longing for a baby in 1971

Three couples told the stories of their struggles to become parents