Hello! I am back from maternity leave. We had our second child, a boy named Max. It has been the best! It has been the worst! My brain constantly teeters between thoughts of “How did I ever live in a world without this baby?” and “Who thought this would be a good idea again?!”

(It’s mostly the former, though. I’m smitten with the kid.)

I once ran a marathon and gave birth to a baby in the same year, and found them to be, mentally, very similar events. In both cases it doesn’t hurt too much in the beginning, but you know you have to save your strength. You will hit a point where you feel your body can go no further, and yet there is still further to go. And you can never truly predict what will happen in the end.

In her Vogue cover story earlier this year, Serena Williams shared how she nearly died after giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

The bun has been in the oven for nine months, and now it's toasted golden brown. Time to get it out!

Six years ago, one of my best friends and I were pregnant at the same time and throughout the day, we would text each other one word: "Kegels!" It was a reminder for us to get in those pelvic squeezes — 100 a day was a recommendation we both had heard — as a way to prepare our bodies for childbirth. Kegel exercises, the contraction and release of pelvic floor muscles, have reigned for decades as the go-to exercise to help make labour faster and easier.

It's understandable that pregnant women focus their planning on the impending delivery: Whether it's going to be a C-section or vaginal birth, at home or in a hospital, smooth jazz or screaming. You might even have made up a detailed "birth plan", complete with instructions for pain meds; lighting preferences; and a plan for video, photos and cutting the cord.

Childbirth injuries are no fun. These are our tenderest bits we're talking about here, places we generally want to be treated with kindness and respect. But what do hefty little babies know about kindness and respect? Not much. They're coming out, by hook or by crook, and it can feel like they actually used a hook and a crook while fighting their way down the chute.

It's time to do another reality check on the latest health news. This week people are telling us to snort cocoa powder but not to eat our own personal organ meats. Does their advice check out? Let's dig in.

As much as you might prepare for the birth of your child, chances are something unexpected will happen. Some mums have had glorious orgasms giving birth, while others' experiences were more torturous. From uncontrollable poops to the need for new shoes, here are the gritty "secrets" about childbirth you might not have heard before.

Pain relief isn't just a physical thing; distracting yourself can help you get through a painful experience. We've already seen that kids who watch cartoons don't feel as much pain when they get a shot. It turns out that playing a game works even better than passively watching videos.

Hi Lifehacker, I'm a first-time father to be. While my wife has been able to find numerous websites to help her through the pregnancy, I'm having a much more difficult time finding places where expectant fathers can learn more about what's going on. Can you help? Thanks, Stressed-Out Sire

Intra-cavity ultrasound probes still pose a risk of cross-infecting patients even after undergoing a standard manual disinfection procedure, a new Australian study has found. The process of soaking the probes in a liquid disinfectant usually leaves large quantities of bacteria on the handles.

A new study has found that fathers can be just as good as mothers at recognising the cries of their offspring. However, the ability to pinpoint your baby's cry diminishes if you spend lots of time with other infants.

WARNING: The following article contains images that some people may find disturbing. What has been seen cannot be unseen...