But most women know it as giving birth to a “preemie.” Some babies are delivered prematurely because the mother or baby have medical problems that make it dangerous to carry the pregnancy to full term ...

Shanley, author of Unassisted Childbirth, is not alone ... position on this -- that labor and delivery present potential hazards to mother and fetus before and after birth.

In many Nigerian communities, motherhood is celebrated as a woman’s ultimate fulfilment, and the birth ... too much pain around my waist, and the man who was responsible for the pregnancy ...

And she is by no means alone. Pregnant women are increasingly being asked to foot their entire healthcare bill upfront - before giving birth ... including prenatal, labor, delivery and postpartum.