The Ninth Month

Doctors in Ethiopia are looking past their religious beliefs on abortions to save lives

While contrary to Ethiopia's conservative religious ideals, a new law there makes access to abortions easier and has been one way the government has tried to save women’s lives. Before the law, a third of all maternal deaths in the country were from botched abortions.

Health & Medicine

Why contraception might be a way out of poverty for Filipino families

The World

July 28, 2014

The Philippines has one of the highest birth rates in Asia. But recently, the government passed a law, over the strenuous objections of the Catholic Church, that paved the way for providing free contraception. Reporter Aurora Almendral speaks with one woman, a grandmother at 33, about how free birth control could change the lives of the country's poorest.

The Ninth Month

Birth Stories Without Borders

The World

May 13, 2014

We want to tell stories of people around the world giving birth. Take a minute and tell us what it was like when you gave birth — or when your child was born. Or call up your mom and ask her what it was like when you were born. And explore the stories we've received already.

Health & Medicine

How a simple van in India can save a mother’s life

The World

April 21, 2014

What do you do if you're a pregnant woman in rural India, you go into labor, and you have no means of getting to the hospital? Janani Express provides an answer.

Lifestyle & Belief

Do the words we use to describe pregnancy reveal our feelings toward it?

The World

April 14, 2014

Updated

04/15/2014 - 10:30am

In Russian, the word for “pregnant” can mean “burdensome.” In Chinese, “pregnant” appears to imply “happiness.” But be careful reading too much meaning into these words, say linguists.

Lifestyle & Belief

Lullabies are not only for children, they're for adults, too

The World

April 07, 2014

Lullabies are just a part of parenting, and growing up. We spoke with Kathy Henderson, collector of lullabies from around the world. It's part of our "Ninth Month" series on pregnancy and childbirth. And try out The World's Lullabies app — where you can join others in recording, sharing and listening to lullabies from different regions of the globe.

Health & Medicine

Share your lullaby with the world

The World

April 07, 2014

As part of The Ninth Month, PRI.org is inviting you to share the lullabies your remember best. Was it one you sung to your own child? Or maybe one your remember your mom singing to a sibling. Share a link to a video or even sing right into your computer.

Health & Medicine

Video: HIV-positive and pregnant, a mother-to-be strives for a healthy child

The World

March 31, 2014

Children born to mothers infected with the AIDS virus are at risk for becoming infected themselves. One pregnant South African woman is determined that her child will be born free of HIV.

Health & Medicine

Scarred by childbirth, mothers are finding help to heal and start over

The World

March 24, 2014

Hundreds of thousands of women in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from a complication that leaves them incontinent and often shamed after childbirth. But there's help for women to heal both physically and emotionally — and it's working for one mother in Malawi.

Health & Medicine

Why Senegal wants families to put more space between their children

The World

March 14, 2014

Just one month after giving birth to her first child, nineteen-year-old Aissatou Tine became pregnant again. Now she and her young son are dealing with the consequences.

Health & Medicine

Fathers in the Caribbean have to fight to see the birth of their kids

Global Voices Online

March 12, 2014

Fathers are routinely denied the right to be present for the birth of their children in Trinidad and Tobago, and in many other Caribbean territories.

Health & Medicine

How old were you when you had your first child?

March 11, 2014

As part of our project, The Ninth Month, we're looking at when women give birth for the first time. The United Nations gathered this data on when women in developing countries had their first children, and while it doesn't cover every country, it does cover a wide swath of the developing world.

Health & Medicine

Russia's looking to improve the quality of its maternity care — but it has a long way to go

The World

March 10, 2014

In Russia, pregnant women are often confined to stark maternity hospitals with little privacy, and where medical practices may be outdated. But the government has plans to make maternity care more modern.

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