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Our top pick of pregnancy apps that will make your transition into parenthood feel like a stroll in the park.
We don’t need to tell you that pregnancy can be an emotional and nerve-wracking time. With so many different things to keep track of and endless questions springing to mind (plus the inevitable baby brain), it can get a little overwhelming. Luckily, we live in an ultra tech-savvy world with a plethora of information literally at our fingertips. Whether you’re tracking your baby’s development, seeing what’s going on with your body, looking for fitness advice or the countdown has begun and you’re in need of contraction tracking, we’ve rounded up our favourite pregnancy apps that will help you transition into parenthood like a pro!
Jump to:
Pregnancy apps
Contraction/labour tracking apps
Other useful pregnancy apps
Read more: Preparing For Birth: 7 Changes That Will Make A Big Difference To Your Labour
Pregnancy Apps
1. WebMD Pregnancy
Who hasn’t used WebMD for all things health? But did you know that they have a free, comprehensive dedicated pregnancy app? With a diverse range of well-vetted, reliable and easy-to-understand information, including weekly nutrition guides, a kick counter, quizzes and a slide show of belly growth and even a contraction timer, this is a great app for first-time mums. What’s more, the app also allows expectant mamas to become part of a large-scale pregnancy study to map weight gain and blood pressure markers. This kind of data can let researchers identify trends of gestational diabetes and complications like pre-eclampsia during delivery. It also has pregnancy 101 articles from real doctors and the “Just for Dads” section is golden. After all, it’s not just the mum on this beautiful journey – it takes two to tango.
Available to download on iOS
2. Sprout Pregnancy
Pregnancy apps should be fun, and this one most definitely is, as well as being included in Time Magazine’s Top 50 Apps of 2014. It has a range of tools any expectant mama would need with a kick counter, gynaecologist visit reminder, contraction timer, weight checker and week-by-week baby graphics – which are easy to navigate. A huge plus is a neat 3D baby imaging feature which helps you grasp what your baby looks like in the womb week after week. All this with info-nuggets like when the baby can hear her mama, or when to expect the first flutter in the belly. Top this with articles from doctors, testimonials from mums about their own journey and a shareable link to your social media platforms. It gets even more useful with insightful tips on travelling during pregnancy, time frame to schedule ultrasounds for finding the gender, second-trimester screening tests, baby planning advice, as well as a newborn checklist and what to pack in the hospital bag for delivery.
Available to download on iOS and Android
3. What To Expect
This is the holy grail of all things pregnancy. Everything you wanted to know about your bun in the oven is explained in depth in this app on a day-by-day and week-by-week basis. The extras like daily pregnancy tips, reminders on screening tests, a photo journal, community message boards, photo sharing and weekly videos are all the things that are necessary for a comprehensive maternity app (and help the mama understand her changing body). Once your baby is out, the app offers a comprehensive guide with all the expert advice and personalised support for the baby’s first year and beyond. This app is a perennial favourite, a real heavyweight and a go-to guide for every baffled expectant parent for all aspects of pregnancy.
Available to download on iOS and Android
4. Totally Pregnant
It’s the Bumble BFF of pregnancy apps! Fun to use, it allows you to vlog and real talk with mums around the world who will understand your midnight food cravings or constant food aversions like no other. It offers recipes for morning sickness, provides weekly 3D updates of foetal development in really cool animations and even gives (paid) prenatal Lamaze classes in the comfort of your own home. It’s one of the few apps with access to online shopping for nursery items, newborn essentials and even maternity clothing. If you’re a sponge for practical knowledge and a sucker for home prenatal classes, this gold star of an app is just for you.
Available to download on iOS and Android
Read more: 5 Ways To Kit Out A Nursery Without Breaking The Bank
5. Baby Centre
Written by experts and reviewed by a medical board, Baby Centre is the go-to guide for millions of families across the world. Trying to get pregnant, already expecting or if you’ve recently given birth, this free app offers a lot of functionality for every stage. Equipped with an ovulation calendar, weekly baby growth charts, knowledge on all symptoms related to pregnancy, nutritional advice, a photo journal which can convert your bump photos into a time-lapse video for a keepsake and post-birth shenanigans. And if that isn’t enough, it has a great community to find age-appropriate information about your child’s development and behaviour.
Available to download on iOS and Android
6. Ovia Pregnancy Tracker
The pregnancy guide on this app is fairly comprehensive, with weekly foetal updates, baby kicks and pregnancy timeline tracker, plus it can record mama’s moods, illnesses, weight gain, blood pressure and nutrition. What the app lacks in the mum-to-mum talk section, it makes up for with thousands of tips and articles on everything pregnancy related, with extra guides on which foods and medications to avoid in pregnancy for safety-related reasons (according to the US FDA). So mums can check they’re not accidentally eating something which can harm the baby. Another popular feature of the app is its baby size comparison tool. Mums can choose to see their babies’ weekly size as a fruit, toy or baby animal in a theme of their choice.
Available to download on iOS and Android
7. Pregnancy Tracker (Glow Inc.)
A one-stop shop for logging your pregnancy stats, doctor appointments, bump pictures, Kegel routines, reminders and any other relevant pregnancy things. The app is super easy to navigate, it’s completely customisable and sends daily notifications about the baby and mum, and also syncs with other fitness apps to keep track of your health. One of the top features is that it carries over to the all important 4th trimester – the first three months after delivery. It has extensive details on breastfeeding, pumping and all things postpartum, so it’s no wonder it gets a glowing recommendation by The Guardian, InStyle and many other publications as one of the top 10 Best iPhone Apps.
Available to download on iOS and Android
8. Who’s Your Daddy
The tag line of this app is – 9 month’s peace of mind for the price of a beer! It’s easy to decipher that this fun app is for first-time dads because, let’s admit, pregnancy is as daunting to them as to their expectant partners. Dads-to-be can get tongue-in-cheek tips in “blokey” language, with light-hearted tips like, “never flirt with the hospital staff… ever!”, “bring home flowers”and “assist with household chores” on a daily basis. The app also includes sections on hospital bag checklist, the very important contraction timer, a to-do list once the baby arrives and gives weekly updates comparing the size of the baby to relatable objects like a banjo, a turkey or a flying fox! It also comes with many of the same tools as popular pregnancy trackers, such as weekly updates, a pregnancy timeline, daily tips, a hospital bag checklist, a baby name generator and contraction counter.
Available to download on iOS and Android for $23
Read more: Pre And Postnatal Fitness Part 1: Safe Exercise For The First Trimester
Contraction/Labour Tracking Apps
9. Full Term Contraction Timer
Tick tock, tick tock. You survived nine months of pregnancy with your pregnancy apps and are waiting to welcome your bub anytime now. Take the guesswork and the clockwork out when you’re in the midst of labour because there are plenty of great apps to time your contractions the techie way. Contraction Timer is one such leading app, it has an easy to navigate interface, it’s clutter-free and records the duration, intensity and frequency of contractions to suggest what stage of labour you’re in.
The app makers realised that in the heat of labour, the last thing a mama wants is to fumble for buttons. So they came up with a full-screen start and stop button. So once you pull up the contractions page, tapping anywhere on the screen can record the data. The app summarises the nature of contractions and alerts you when to rush to the hospital for your baby’s debut. You can also email your labour history to your doctor or just save it for keepsake.
Available to download on iOS and Android for $8
10. GentleBirth
Hypnobirthing is the meditative technique designed to make labour less scary for women. It promotes more of a deep, meditative state and the aim is to achieve mind over matter so labour becomes a relaxed, calm and natural process. According to the founders of this app, GentleBirth combines brain science, birth science and technology to offer a kind of antenatal programme; the aim of which is to prepare mums for a positive birth experience.
The app offers a one-week free trial for mamas to get educated on mindfulness, hypnosis, breathing techniques and sports psychology. It even connects users to thousands of positive birthing testimonials of women around the world to make you calm, confident and in control of your body in the labour suite. And it’s not just the mums who can do a little DIY brain modelling, dad can benefit from emotional resilience too and provide meaningful support to their partners in labour (monthly app charges are around $101 after the one-week free trial).
Available to download on iOS and Android
11. Contraction Master
This is really handy, easy to use, and records and tracks the intensity of contractions when you’re in the heat of labour. There is a “Hospital Alert” feature which tells you when the contractions are long enough and close enough to leave for the labour ward. The app is effortless to use and you can make your partner more involved in the process by getting them to tap the screen once the contraction starts and again when it ends. Email the entire history to your doctor or midwife or just keep it for records.
Available to download on iOS
12. Labor Signs
Once you’re approaching active labour, this app offers a clean interface to time, record and track your contractions (imperative for all labour apps). It can store important contact numbers and even find the nearest hospital in case of an emergency. The unique selling point of this app is definitely the family sharing option, so six of your family members can use this app. A great idea for your family to be on the same page even if they are in different parts of the world and for everyone to be prepared for the baby debut. Available in multiple languages (English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Ukrainian), this app packs a lot for a free price tag!
Available to download on iOS
13. Freya Surge Timer
The app is a hit with hypnobirthing mamas. It coaches women in labour with simple breathing techniques, guided meditation, music and calming visualisation, offering a calm, zen-like experience which helps in controlling anxiety and panic. Record your surges (hypnobirthing doesn’t use the “C” word) and share them with the midwife; all while the coaching audio keeps the mind focussed solely on breathing and relaxation in between surges. Family sharing is enabled with six family members and the app also gives an option to share your birth story with a personalised announcement. You can also use Freya post-birth any time you feel you could benefit from taking some deep breaths or need some help finding your zen.
Available to download on iOS
14. Contraction Timer
The app allows women to track their contractions with a single one-button interface to start and stop the timer. Powered with great visual cues for the intensity of each contraction, you can easily see graphs for averages and compare them with the last hour, which helps you decide the right time to head to the hospital. One great aspect is that the app remembers all the data you enter – even if you quit or switch back and forth between other pregnancy apps (or WhatsApp!). This feature is really important because labour is, quite often, long and a mama might need her dose of candy crush to get distracted! Look for the little graph icon in red while downloading the app – it’s called Contraction Timer – Time labour on the App Store and Contractions Timer for Labor on the Play Store.
Available to download on iOS and Android
Read more: Newborn Sleep: Healthy Habits For Your Baby’s First Months
Other Useful Pregnancy Apps
15. Baby2Body, Pregnancy Workouts and Wellness
Gym access, personal trainers or fitness classes are not always feasible in pregnancy, but luckily there are several pregnancy apps out there to help. The founders of this app tapped into prenatal and postnatal fitness and wellbeing. It packs in a lot of free features – fitness tips tailored for each trimester, nutrition guidelines, food recipes, pelvic floor exercises, wellbeing coaching and podcasts, plus safe and effective weekly workout plans. Upgrade to the premium version and say hello to a nutritionist, personal trainer and a wellbeing coach.
Available to download on iOS (Android version coming soon!)
16. MommyMeds
We all know mamas are naturally protective, so it’s understandable that you’ll want to be extra vigilant when it comes to what you’re putting in your body, especially when pregnant. While pregnancy apps are great, they might not be able to tell you what is (or isn’t) safe during pregnancy when it comes to medication. You’ll have one less thing to worry thanks to MommyMeds, which will help determine whether your prescription or over-the-counter drugs are safe to use while you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. With a database of over 20,000 listed drugs and medications, you can breathe a sigh of relief to know that your baby is safe and sound.
Available to download on iOS and Android
17. Baby Names
One of the first major decisions as new parents is deciding what to name your new bundle of joy, so baby naming pregnancy apps are a must! Baby Names is a fab app that will help when making your final choice. You might be a little overwhelmed with more than 30,000 baby names to choose from, but with each name’s meaning, origin and pronunciation included, we guarantee you’ll find the perfect name for your new bubba.
Available to download on iOS and Android
18. Noisli
It’s essential you squeeze in all the extra Zs you can get before the new arrival. But with all the changes happening to your body, sleep can sometimes be elusive. Contrary to its name, Noisli provides soothing and natural sounds of rain, forests, bonfires and the ocean to put your wandering mind at rest. Although there is a small charge (up to $15), drift off to dreamland as your favourite sounds play for as long as you like with Noisli’s easy-to-use timer. After all, Sassy Mamas need their lullabies too.
Available to download on iOS and Android
19. Headspace
Living in a city like Hong Kong, it’s easy to get caught up in everyday worries and stresses. What if we told you that stress hormones can actually penetrate the placenta and affect the baby? Banish stress, learn to be more present and enjoy every moment more through mindfulness and meditation! Developed by Andy Puddicombe, mindfulness app Headspace includes short sessions (or longer if you prefer) of meditation exercises that’ll help you clear your head and gain some peace in the midst of all the craziness. There is also a special 30-day pregnancy meditation (available in the paid version) to help you and baby connect on a more mindful level. Check out our chat about mindfulness with Andy for more information!
Available to download on iOS and Android
Read more: Your Ultimate Breastfeeding Survival Guide: 10 Steps To Positive Nursing
Editor’s Note: User discretion is advised when using labour and pregnancy apps as everyone‘s pregnancy and birth is different! If you are ever concerned about your baby or think you might be in labour, contact a medical professional.
