Our 3 Favorite Apps for Meditation in Pregnancy & Labor
Written by Shay Gabriel
Are you familiar with the many benefits of meditation in pregnancy, for both pregnant person and baby? If not, check out our blog post on the benefits of meditation here! If you’re ready to practice pregnancy meditation and you’re wondering where to begin, look no further! We give you: our 3 favorite apps for meditation in pregnancy & labor (simply ranked in alphabetical order).
Photo taken in darkness
Some notes from experience, before we dive in:
I highly recommend that you make sure your birth partner is familiar with your preferred apps for labor well before labor begins — for guided meditations, music, or otherwise. That way they can navigate the features you like as suitable throughout the progression of labor. When I was in the throes of labor, I remember wishing for my favorite guided meditation at some point, but not forming the thoughts or words to ask for it. At another point, I recall my phone being left on a guided breathing app and feeling desensitized to it. I think I eventually switched the phone to my labor playlist when I was snapped out of labor land by the rising sun. In any case, I realized in retrospect that it would have been nice to have prepared a list for my husband or birth team, so that they could navigate my phone on my behalf and for my benefit throughout labor.
You might even consider writing down specific directions/suggestions for your partner/birth team to consider throughout phases of labor. For example,
If I am struggling with breath work, you could open the Freya app and click the surge button as my contractions start and finish. This will help me focus on my breaths and relax through the surges.
If I seem to need help getting into the labor zone, please play a guided meditation from the Expectful app. Here’s a list of my favorites.
If I seem to be deep in labor land, please play my ‘meditation’ playlist on Spotify.
It would be helpful to have your labor apps easily accessible from the main home screen. Also consider keeping your phone plugged in on “do not disturb” mode, casting your phone to the house speakers, and/or having waterproof bluetooth earbuds available to you. That way you can reap the benefits of your favorite apps without being bound to your phone (or worse, distracted by incoming notifications and calls!). Have your birth partner handle any necessary incoming calls or texts, like those of your birth team, and make sure plans are in place to do so in advance. Keep their phone charged, too.
3 apps for meditation in pregnancy & labor
#1: Expectful
Expectful is “A haven of holistic care for moms: hopeful, expecting, and new.” Expectful offers resources the creators wanted but never had. It offers “meditations, events, support groups and services catered to where you are, personalized by you.”
Expectful offers a free trial, a monthly subscription. or annual subscription.
#2: freya, by the positive birth co
We can’t say it enough, and neither can the Positive Birth Co: “The more relaxed you are, the more efficient and comfortable your labour will be.”
Freya is “the world's first hypnobirthing-friendly surge (contraction) timer and virtual birth partner.” Freya coaches you through surges/contractions with a simple breathing technique, positive affirmations, calming visualizations, and guided relaxations. Use the app to practice meditation techniques before labor begins. In early labor, the Freya app can track your contractions and help you/your birth partner decide when to contact your birth team.
The Freya app is available for a small one-time fee.
Photo taken in darkness
#3: gentlebirth
GentleBirth is “the world's first intelligent birth preparation app. Combining brain science, birth science and technology to help you have the most positive birth experience possible.”
The GentleBirth app offers guidance through hypnosis, mindfulness, affirmations, and breathing. The app also includes a library of meditative sounds you can explore. You can mark your favorite meditations and sounds throughout the app for easy access. You can also choose to autoplay the sounds library. A contraction timer and other tools are also available within the app.
The GentleBirth app has many resources available for free, or you can upgrade to a premium account.
Download the GentleBirth app here.
related blog posts
Check out these other blog posts related to mindful pregnancy and labor.
Shay Gabriel is the content director at Sprout and Blossom whose love of parenthood and psychology has merged into a super-obsession of all things birthy and baby. She believes an informed experience lends to an empowered experience, no matter where you are along the journey.