scorecardresearch
Add as a preferred source on Google
Monday, February 23, 2026
TopicChildbirth

Topic: Childbirth

China launches survey to understand ‘fear of having children’ amid struggle to boost birth rate

Beijing is trying to encourage young couples to have children after China posted a second consecutive year of population decline in 2023.

Andhra has 3rd highest C-section rate in India. How it’s trying to reverse trend, with midwives at helm

Pan-India, C-section increasingly becoming an elective surgery rather than one driven by medical necessity. A state govt pilot project, which has kicked off in Tenali, aims to change this.

Unable to pay bribe to community health centre, UP woman gives birth in the bushes outside

The incident in Aligarh district’s Iglas town flies in the face of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s claims of a poor-friendly health service.

Special pay hike, free child attendants — How Sikkim plans to address falling fertility rate

Special increment to women employees giving birth to a second baby & two increments for a third child. Steps are in contrast to states like UP that are trying to stem population.

Can we only form memories after the age of 2? Here’s what ‘infantile amnesia’ means

'Autobiographical' memories form a critical part of your development as a child, but it doesn't end there. There are more kinds.

7 home childbirths, grandma at 36 — In Bihar’s Musahar villages, few can access healthcare

Shanti Manjhi was 36 years old when she became a grandmother for the first time in January this year. That night, she notched up...

Temple posters, orders to priests: How Telangana district is fighting ‘auspicious’ caesareans

In April, Karimnagar collector issued instructions to doctors & priests against needless surgery. Hope is if 'auspicious date' perk is removed, parents will opt for natural birth.

Financial burden of child births is rising in India – even in free public health facilities

ISEC Bangalore researchers studied NFHS data to find that out-of-pocket expenditure for a normal delivery at a public facility is higher for rural households (Rs 5,368) than urban (Rs 4,330).

No big impact of childbirth on women’s job prospects, says UN study on rural Indian women

Published by United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research, the study was conducted on about 6,000 people in Rajasthan and Karnataka, most of them rural workers.

Indians didn’t make babies during lockdown, but abortion numbers higher, doctors say

Last year, UN projected India would lead nations that will see post-pandemic baby boom. This was largely attributed to breakdown of contraceptive services during lockdown.

On Camera

Nick Jonas wearing a mangalsutra is validation for many Indians. He’s our favourite jiju

Nick Jonas is not trying to modernise the mangalsutra, but his gesture shows that choices can be equal. If commitment must be flaunted, it need not be gendered.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

Suspected brake failure leads to Tejas accident after landing, airframe likely to be written off

The IAF, so far, remains mum on this accident which has led to grounding of the fleet for safety checks.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.