Childbirth

Indian American mother Purvi Patel already had become Indiana’s first woman convicted of feticide, for what she said was a miscarriage. Now she’s been sentenced to 20 years in prison, alarming advocates for immigrants and reproductive rights.

Sonia Narang recently returned from reporting on reproductive rights in the Philippines for Across Women’s Lives. She visited Manila’s Fabella Hospital and shows us through her photography what it’s like for Filipino women to endure one of the world’s most crowded maternity wards.

In Chinese tradition, women who give birth are supposed to spend a month indoors with their new babies. It’s not easy to follow that tradition here in the US, but one second-generation Chinese American woman in New York City did savor one part of the tradition — special foods made by her mother-in-law.

During a global health reporting trip to Mozambique, Sonia Narang witnessed the challenges women and children face in one of the least developed countries in the world. Thus was born “The Women of Mozambique,” a week long Instagram series that illuminates the lives of women through short vignettes.

Prenatal care consumes a big part of a pregnant woman’s life. There are the monthly appointments, the tests — all on top of whatever is going on at home. And it can be overwhelming. But a new program, called Centering Pregnancy, tries to ease that burden by putting women in groups for their prenatal care.Prenatal care consumes a big part of a pregnant woman’s life. There are the monthly appointments, the tests — all on top of whatever is going on at home. And it can be overwhelming. But a new program, called Centering Pregnancy, tries to ease that burden by putting women in groups for their prenatal care.