pregnancy

Nearly 4 million babies were born last year. Preliminary data from the CDC show that the U.S. birth rate increased last year for the first time since 2007.

Insurance coverage for maternity care is deemed essential under the Affordable Care Act. But adult children on a parent's plan still may be on the hook for the cost of childbirth. And it's not cheap.

A large, international study found that kids born to older parents had higher rates of autism. Having a teen mom or parents with a large gap between their ages also increased the autism odds.

Local clinics may have "no staff and no stuff." Big hospitals are hard to reach. But when community health workers come to live in a village, there's a change for the better.

Most school sex education programs stick to the nuts and bolts of biology. Teenagers who also talk about what makes for a good relationship are more likely to avoid pregnancy and STDs, a study finds.

Miscarriages are common — but people think they're rare, a survey finds. And they often blame the woman. Readers tell us that those mistaken beliefs make the experience even more painful.

Achieving pregnancy with in vitro fertilization depends largely on your age. But other factors contribute, too. A study compares two online tools aimed at giving couples a realistic sense of the odds.

The rate of women worldwide who die in childbirth has dropped by more than 40 percent over the past two decades. But does this rosy global health statistic overstate the extent of change?