birth

Topic description and stories

Tales from the edge of modern fertilities

15 Dec 2020

A major research project sees sociologists situated at emerging hot spots of reproductive change, investigating the new ‘haves and have-nots’ in our...

Surviving birth

10 Dec 2020

Researchers at one of the busiest maternity hospitals in the world aim to help more women survive complications giving birth.

Nature’s epidural: Genetic variant may explain why some women don’t need pain relief during childbirth

21 Jul 2020

Women who do not need pain relief during childbirth may be carriers of a key genetic variant that acts a natural epidural, say scientists at the...

Early childhood mortality rates in 1851 (left) and 1911 (right). The highest rates are in red and the lowest in blue.

Online atlas explores north-south divide in childbirth and child mortality during Victorian era

15 May 2018

A new interactive online atlas, which illustrates when, where and possibly how fertility rates began to fall in England and Wales during the...

Opinion: Losing your virginity: how we discovered that genes could play a part

15 Apr 2016

John Perry and Ken Ong (MRC Epidemiology Unit) discuss how sexual milestones are influenced by our genes and how this can impact on broader health...

Getting the true measure of pregnancy

12 Jun 2014

One in 200 babies dies before birth in the UK. A study aimed at determining how to reduce the risk of a pregnancy coming to a devastating end is now...

Understanding the placenta: the key to healthy life

22 Aug 2012

The placenta is the interface between the mother and her baby, which means it is not only key to a successful pregnancy, it determines the future...

Delivering better ways of preventing stillbirth

11 May 2012

Despite recent dramatic reductions in cot death rates in the UK, and the development of sophisticated screening for Down’s syndrome, preventing...

Under the Microscope #3 - Mouse embryo

26 Jan 2012

In this video, we see a mouse embryo developing. Dr Erica Watson tells us that studying this process helps us better understand human pregnancy.

Image from the Books and Babies exhibition at Cambridge University Library

Let's talk about sex!

07 Jul 2011

The history of human reproduction – via its communication through the ages – is examined in a ground-breaking exhibition opening this week at...

Decrease in delivery-related infant deaths in Scotland

14 Aug 2009

A study has shown that over the last 20 years there has been a sharp decline in infant deaths during delivery for pregnancies which went to term. The...