Danish moms have a built-in support group through the healthcare system

Setting up a support group could be as simple as informally gathering in your kitchen

Groups may be as varied as an ad-hoc group that gets together to share information and encouragement or a longer-term group with a stated purpose and a facilitator, or perhaps look like anything in between.

Support groups are typically free, which makes them widely accessible

The groups are typically run by someone with the same illness or set of experiences and can provide clear, practical knowledge about navigating healthcare resources, bureaucracy, and more. Since they function on trust, however, there are no legal confidentiality prohibiting people from sharing what's discussed. What's more, group leaders may not be uniformly trained or certified.

Dolphins have doulas too?

For the first time in over a decade, a dolphin gave birth at Brookfield Zoo, and she didn’t do it alone. Right beside her was another dolphin, acting as a doula. Why do dolphins support each other this way? The answer reveals something incredible about how animals care for one another.

USA Today asked readers about their grief—and received more than 700 responses

The submissions included one moving story of two women whose sons died by drug overdose. The duo wrote that they found each other in a support group and decided to navigate their respective difficult situations by starting a podcast together called "Two Moms with Two Dead Kids," which focused on what life was like in the years following the deaths of their children.

Meeting someone with common healthcare challenges can be life-changing

The understanding that comes from meeting others who have similar experiences can provide hope that life can get better, the solace of affirmation, and make navigating a new diagnosis or a rare illness, in particular, much easier.

The US trails behind other developed countries in reducing its stillbirth rates and may learn from Australia

Australia is in the vanguard of efforts to bring down stillbirth numbers with a national stillbirth plan integrated into its healthcare system, supported by clinicians, nurses, midwives, and politicians. Its work also includes a public awareness campaign, more regular fetal monitoring and follow-up for potential interventions, and more maternal advice about care and safety during pregnancy.

Touch helps newborns regulate stress, gain weight, and feel less pain

Conclusions from this 2024 analysis from a team of Danish researchers included that touch interventions were particularly useful for newborns in regulating cortisol levels, helping newborns gain weight, and reducing pain. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Connecticut recently became the first state to create and launch a baby bond program

The program invests $3.2K for a baby born after July 2023, who is covered by the state's Medicaid program. When the child turns 18, they can use the funds for college, retirement, to buy a home, or invest in a business.

Newborns have a strong sense of smell

Babies are drawn to their mother's smell—and the particular odor of their mother's breast milk—within days, even as their vision remains blurry for months after birth. In the womb, the olfactory center also forms in the early stages of development.

How Peloton got moms hooked

Peloton's at-home workout classes were a game-changer for parents, giving them a chance to squeeze a workout in without leaving the house. The community group feature on Peloton created a sense of community that made users incredibly loyal to the brand.

Dementia caregiver training programs exist—but they aren't common

Comprehensive dementia care programs go beyond offering support to caregivers. They train people on how to modify their homes, communicate with their loved ones with dementia, and cope with the stress of caregiving, among other skills. Yet despite evidence showing their effectiveness and the economic benefit of avoiding unnecessary emergency room visits, these programs are often poorly funded and difficult to find.

Why South Korean women are having fewer babies

For decades, Asian countries have been combating dwindling birth rates by basically bribing families into having more children: offering government-subsidized housing, free IVF treatments, and even straight-up cash handouts. It hasn’t worked. In this BBC video, a TV producer, a cartoonist, and a private-school teacher explain their views on having children in 21st-century Korea.

Health and population surveys from 90 countries

The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program collects, analyzes, and disseminates data on population, health, HIV, and nutrition. The site compiles data through more than 400 surveys in over 90 countries around the world. Explore demographic...

What employers can do about parental stress

The US Surgeon General recently released a formal warning deeming parental stress a public health issue. The advisory also included recommendations for how employers can mitigate the issue. Employers can help their employees access child care, for instance, or provide flexible working hours. To find out more about what the Surgeon General prescribes, read more here.

What is Swedish death cleaning?

Popularized in 2017 by Margareta Magnusson and her book "Döstädning: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning," Swedish death cleaning is a cultural practice that encourages older folks to organize (and often donate) their belongings before they pass. This article explores the reasons behind the practice and explains how it can alleviate stress around death.

Couple welcomes rare quadruplet daughters who are actually a set of twins

The four healthy girls were delivered by cesarean section and joined a larger family that includes their parents and a 2-year-old older brother. Without the use of fertility drugs, quadruplet births are rare, but the chances are even slimmer that they'll be sets of identical twins. Medical professionals say the odds are around one in a million.

Works of art on motherhood at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City contains one of the world's most prestigious collections, and this page draws together classic and contemporary works created around the theme of motherhood.

How women grow tiny humans inside of them

Pregnancy is a complex biological journey, lasting about 40 weeks. When a sperm fertilizes an egg, that event triggers intricate cellular and hormonal processes, driven by hardwired cellular instructions, which lead to cell division, differentiation, and development—ultimately culminating in the birth of a baby.

Why young people in the UK are hanging out at saunas

In the UK, Finnish-style saunas doubled from 45 to over 100 in 2024. This recent surge is driven by young people seeking healthy and affordable spaces to meet others and socialize. While Gen Z also turns to sobriety more due to costs and health concerns, these rejuvenating leisure spots are providing a perfect home to alcohol-free gatherings. Read more about the rising trend here.

The US tried to buy Greenland in 1867 and after World War II

Denmark first took possession of the large, ice-covered island in the northern Atlantic in the 1700s. The local population is a mix of native Inuit, Norwegians (from the medieval era), and Danes, though the population is only 56,000. The US has seen the defensive and economic potential of the island for over 150 years.

Matrilineal societies—where women led households—were common among Northeastern natives

Such societies also viewed women as leaders in spiritual matters. Both men and women held political roles as clan leaders and worked in tandem with an advisory council.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Danish cookies became a treasured Lunar New Year gift, thanks to their unique tin container

Hong Kong experienced an economic boom in the 1970s, which led to snacking, including on Western foods, becoming a cultural norm. Kjeldsens butter cookies became a popular treat, and their packaging, a distinct tin container, presented them as more refined than a simple snack. Instead, they were considered a worthwhile present for Lunar New Year.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

Mitochondria—only inherited from mothers in most animals—have their own DNA

Mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, typically takes the shape of a circle and contains genes that code for proteins essential to the production of energy-containing molecules called ATP. When mitochondria fuse, the mixing of healthy and damaged mtDNA helps alleviate the effects of mutations that may have occurred during mitochondrial division or environmental interactions.

Menopause, once not discussed in polite company, is now a plot point in some television shows

Menopause has long been a topic left out of film and TV. But some shows, like "The Change," and celebrities, like Jennie Garth, are now openly talking about it. This article breaks down how Hollywood is starting to come around to the menopause conversation and how celebrities are talking about their own personal experiences, as well as advocating on Capitol Hill.

The origins of Father's Day

Father's Day occurs on the third Sunday in June in the US. It was inspired by the same movement that advocated for Mother's Day, and was first celebrated in 1910. However, the day wasn't official until 1972, many decades after its counterpart, Mother's Day, was formally adopted as a holiday.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak in the DRC is spurring new Ebola vaccine development for the Bundibugyo species.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'