News
After seven years of IVF, we turned to a surrogate. It’s been a challenging journey
2+ hour, 7+ min ago (493+ words) March 22, 2026 " 5:00am Designer "ener Besim has had numerous roles in the Australian fashion industry. These days, he is the founder and designer of his eponymous jewellery and clothing label. Here, the 54-year-old father of two talks about the important women in…...
‘These are avoidable’: Dozens of babies dead or permanently injured after freebirths
2+ hour, 7+ min ago (1264+ words) March 22, 2026 " 5:00am At least 13 babies have died following so-called freebirths in Victoria over the past five years, while a further 11 have suffered potential lifelong brain injuries. The data, which was obtained from multiple high-level sources in the health sector, highlights the…...
A woman’s choice over risk: The new birth rules for Victorian hospitals
2+ mon, 2+ day ago (949+ words) January 20, 2026 " 5:33am The state's health watchdog has ordered doctors and midwives to support women who refuse medical treatment during pregnancy and childbirth, even if it risks permanently harming their unborn babies. The Safer Care Victoria guidelines, which quietly came into effect…...
Better out than in: The surprising links between gas, fibre and exercise
1+ day, 12+ hour ago (906+ words) March 20, 2026 " 7:00pm My mother is the proudest farter I know, although my younger brother comes close. Ever since he was a young child, he has been able to fart rather musically, pumping out rhythmically to a vaguely familiar tune you can't…...
After a traumatic birth, this rarely discussed caesarean option was healing
2+ day, 12+ hour ago (814+ words) For the birth of my first child, I had what's called an "elective" caesarean. Ironically, I wasn't given a choice. My baby was breech, and efforts to turn him were unsuccessful. It was not at all how I wanted to…...
The ties that bind: a new exhibition at NGV explores motherhood
3+ day, 19+ hour ago (1263+ words) March 18, 2026 " 12:00pm When Kate Just met her son, two-year-old Harper, he came to the door of his foster carer's home, shook her hand and said: "Hi Mum. Two years later, Just knitted that suit and called it An Armour of Hope…...
Deborah’s mother gave birth to nine children. Six of them were taken
2+ week, 6+ day ago (451+ words) March 2, 2026 " 5:00am Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This week, he talks to Deborah…...
My husband and I dated quietly at first. Six weeks in, I learnt I was pregnant
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (691+ words) February 15, 2026 " 5:00am Musician Sophie Ellis-Bextor is best known for her hit song, Murder on the Dancefloor. Here, the 46-year-old mother of five talks about the important men in her life, including what led to her meeting her husband, fellow musician Richard…...
A childless life is not the nightmare ending you might think it is
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (537+ words) February 7, 2026 " 8:00am Have you heard the term "fertility vampire? It's a person " usually a man " who dates someone during their childbearing years and then ends the relationship, robbing them of their chance to be a parent. These stories, common enough that…...
‘Tidal wave of pressure’: Has the Ozempic boom made it harder for new mums?
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (1389+ words) February 6, 2026 " 1:57pm Coming of age in the late 1990s, Jessica Seitz, 33, knows the pressures of diet and "skinny" culture well. "I grew up my whole life with weight issues. You won't find very many Millennials that didn't at least have bad body…...