What does your wee say about your health? Well, plenty – but perhaps not in quite the way medieval physicians understood it. Before the in-depth study of anatomy and physiology, establishing the cause

Holding the hand of a mum in the final stages of labour, I gently encouraged her to push one last time. The room was quiet except for her sobs, already grieving for the baby not yet born. When her lit

Among the many remarkable aspects of Clara Schumann’s life was the fact that she gave birth to eight children – seven of whom lived to adulthood. Given she lived in the 19th century, it is astonishing

As a new film takes an unflinching look at racial inequality in maternity care, Maria Lally speaks to those involved in the film – and those fighting for change

I n 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That, at least, is what the famous rhyme tells us. Memorising such dates is a common experience of being taught history – a cliché superbly lampooned by the w

In the 17th century, the great maritime nations were vying to solve a puzzle that had confounded philosophers for many centuries: how to determine exact positions on the Earth’s surface. And in Britai