Pregnancy Apps: Are You Using the Best One?

Weeding through all those pregnancy apps takes time you don’t have. Check out this list to find the best of the best pregnancy apps for natural mamas.

Weeding through all those pregnancy apps takes time you don't have. Check out this list to find the best of the best pregnancy apps for natural mamas.

You watched as other moms posted their bump pictures and announced the arrival of their new baby. And now, it’s your turn! You want to know allll the details. Sure, you could Google every little thing (and you probably will), but why do all that extra legwork when there are pregnancy apps that can tell you everything you’ve ever wanted to know?!

My Experience With Pregnancy Apps

You know the phrase: There’s an app for that. These days, there’s an app for just about anything you can think of, and pregnancy is no different. In fact, there are hundreds of pregnancy apps out there. Still, I initially had trouble finding the right one for me. 

While there are some truly helpful apps out there, it seemed like the vast majority talked about pregnancy as a scary medical condition. And even more of them had message boards full of panic or off-putting content. Rather than feel uplifted and inspired, I felt anxious!

I love the week-by-week format—it’s so easy to digest. And let’s be honest: That’s something most pregnant mamas could use. (Pregnancy brain is real y’all.) But I couldn’t find any week-by-week pregnancy apps for naturally-minded mamas like myself. 

So I Created My Own Pregnancy Week-by-Week

To go along with my book, The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth, I created The Mama Natural Week-by-Week pregnancy updates.

My version of the week-to-week isn’t a standalone pregnancy app—instead you can sign up for emails, texts, or communication through Facebook Messenger. Through each update, I’ll gently guide you through every step of your pregnancy in partnership with midwives and healthcare professionals, from those early signs to labor itself

You’ll find a lot of the same fun stuff you love in other week-by-week pregnancy apps (updates on baby’s size, for example), but you’ll also find a lot of really great things you won’t get in other pregnancy apps (like how to choose a midwife, or how magnesium can kick morning sickness in the behind).

If you’re eager to get pregnancy updates that align with your natural lifestyle, visit this link and click “Send Me Updates!” to sign up for Facebook Messenger updates. Not on Messenger? You can still sign up for email or text updates. Just click “Get email updates” right below the sign-up button.

Mama Natural Pregnancy Updates – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural

Pregnant? Get my FREE week-by-week updates! – Week by Week Promo [In-article]

Track your baby’s growth, find safe and natural remedies, and have fun along the way!

Get Pregnancy Updates!

What Are the Best Pregnancy Apps?

Of course there are some other great pregnancy apps out there, so we’ve done our research and listed what we think are some of the best pregnancy apps on the market. We also threw in a twin pregnancy app and an adorable pregnancy photo app for all those cute bump pics you’re gonna take.

The Most Comprehensive Pregnancy Apps

1. Sprout Pregnancy

Sprout – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural 2

One of Time’s “Top 50 Apps of the Year,” the Sprout Pregnancy app is quickly becoming one of the more popular apps on the market. It has all kinds of useful tools: daily and weekly updates, a personalized pregnancy timeline, a weight tracker, a kick counter, a contraction timer, and a pregnancy journal. They also have a pretty impressive interactive 3D model showing baby’s development, so you can imagine what your little baby looks like on the inside.

2. Ovia

Ovia – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural

If you’re looking for one of the all-encompassing pregnancy apps, you might want to give Ovia a try. There are too many features to list, but just a few include: timeline with articles and tips based on the data you enter, weekly reports on your pregnancy progress, milestone tracking, and even postpartum support. For all the times you ask yourself, “Can I eat that?” or “Can I take that?” the Food Safety Lookup Tool and the Medications Lookup Tool will make your life a little easier. There is also an opportunity to connect with other moms-to-be through their targeted community feature (where you can find another mom who is the same number of weeks pregnant, also on a gluten-free diet, and lives in your neighborhood).

3. Glow Nurture

Grow Nurture – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural

The Glow fertility tracker left a lot of pregnant women wanting to know “What’s next?” once they were pregnant. So the Glow creators came up with Glow Nurture for pregnancy. Just like Ovia, you can customize the information to your pregnancy, join community groups, and find postpartum support. Of all the ones on this list, Glow Nurture may be the most comprehensive. There are thousands of pregnancy articles, a pretty in-depth symptoms tracker, appointment and medication reminders, and the option to download a PDF of all your symptoms and health data.

The Most Unique Pregnancy App

Expectful Pregnancy App

Expectful – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural 3

It’s easy to get caught up in the nuances of pregnancy—what your cramps mean or an upcoming glucose test—but sometimes the message board threads detailing these things can really rattle you. The Expectful Pregnancy app reminds you to meditate and take a deep breath—to focus on the joys of pregnancy. According to the site, meditation can improve fertility, enhance fetal health, and help you bond with your yet-to-be born baby. The app provides 10- and 20-minute guided audio sessions specifically made for motherhood journeys, as well as videos that help you establish a regular meditation and relaxation practice throughout pregnancy.

The Most Fun Pregnancy Apps

1. Hello Belly

Hello Belly – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural

Sometimes you just need to laugh a little. Hello Belly calls themselves “the cutest and funniest guide for future moms.” Of all the pregnancy apps, you get 280-plus practical tips but written in “cozy form.” For example, week 3 will greet you with a funny cartoon of a dinosaur and a jar of pickles, plus an explanation about why you can smell EVERYTHING. It also features Mommy Yoga videos and 3D visualizations of the womb (with confetti, of course). Bonus: No ads on this one! Want more laughs? Check out these pregnancy memes!

2. Baby Pool

Baby Pool – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural

Forget football. Let’s place bets on your pregnancy! One of the more unique pregnancy apps, let’s set the serious stuff aside and have a little fun with the Baby Pool app. Your friends and family members join in on this one. Each person guesses the correct sex, date and time of birth, and name, weight, and length. Once baby is born, participants earn points for each right answer. The pool creator is welcome to add prizes to sweeten the pot.

The Best Pregnancy App for Partners

Who’s Your Daddy

Whos your daddy – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural

Mamas aren’t the only ones who want to keep tabs on baby. Papas want to get in on the action, too. Enter the Who’s Your Daddy app, a place designed to give dad weekly updates, a development timeline, a hospital bag checklist, a to-do list, potential baby names, and a contraction counter. (And one of the only pregnancy apps to focus just on dad or partner!) But the best part? Suggestions for taking care of mom (277 days to go: Bring home a bunch of flowers. Awwww).

The Best Pregnancy App for Multiples

Pregnancy Diary Twins in Womb

Pregnancy Diary Twins in Womb – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural

So you just found out you’re having twins (or triplets… or quadruplets). There’s not only more to anticipate post-birth, but there’s also more to understand during the development process. The Pregnancy Diary Twins app was designed by a mother of twins who didn’t see pregnancy apps mamas with multiples. This app has all the basic tracking options—pregnancy countdown, calendar for appointments, stages of fetal development week-by-week, and community support from other moms pregnant with multiples.

The Best Pregnancy App for Labor

Full Term Contraction Timer

Full Term Contration Timer – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural

The last thing you need when you’re in the middle of an intense contraction is video clips and tips. Full Term Contraction Timer keeps it clean and clutter-free when compared with other pregnancy apps. Just tap a button at the start and end of each contraction. In response, you’ll get a chart with the duration of each contraction, the frequency, and the start time. It also lets you manually enter contractions or undo if you make a mistake (which is very easy to do during labor!).

Not Quite a Pregnancy App, But Who Can Resist?!

Baby Pics Photo Editor

Baby Pics – Photo Editor – Pregnancy Apps Why You Should Skip the Most Popular Ones and Do this Instead! pregnancy post by Mama Natural

You know those people who are ridiculously good with photo editing, and put your poorly-lit bump pics to shame? This photo editing app may have something to do with it. Although this may not fall into the category of pregnancy apps, Baby Pics allows you to spiff up your baby bump growth pics with adorable artwork and personalized text. Capture your bump’s growth (with coordinating produce, of course!), first kicks, and eventually their growth out of the womb. When you’re done, share your works of art via social media, text, or email.

How About You?

What pregnancy apps did you use that you loved? Which ones left something to be desired? Tell us in the comments below.

Genevieve Howland

About the Author

Genevieve Howland is a childbirth educator and breastfeeding advocate. She is the bestselling author of The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth and creator of the Mama Natural Birth Course. A mother of three, graduate of the University of Colorado, and YouTuber with over 130,000,000 views, she helps mothers and moms-to-be lead healthier and more natural lives.

7 Comments

  1. All these apps seem great if it’s your 1st baby but I am pregnant with my 5th baby and I would love something that just keeps me posted on weekly changes and maybe some simple reminders. It would also be great to have a bit more advice for a mom of multiple births. Different pains and care for a body that has worked a bit in making people. Relaxation when you have 4 other children to care for. Any suggestions?

  2. I really like the HiMommy app. It gives you a message from the baby every day. Sometimes informational, sometimes cute.

    Just don’t waste your money on the HiDaddy app. My husband says it sounds like frat boys wrote it and I question a few of the things they have as well.

    • I agree with you! HiMommy is great app ( https://himommyapp.com ). Sometime ago it is possibility to choose different styling in HiDaddy app

  3. I used Ovia with my son and I liked it a lot, now with 2nd baby I’m finding Ovia a little boring. Ads on the newsfeed and really uninformed users on the message board. I’m going to try sprout or expectful– I’m hoping to find an online community of crunchy moms.

  4. How about some non-apple apps for us android users? I was looking forward to trying the last two until I clicked on the link.

  5. My hubby found the “Daddy Up” App. It is adorably funny, appropriate, informative and helpful. It has everything a new father will need (in my opinion as a first timer). 😀 We enjoy looking at it when a new week arrives and reading what it has to say. Also has a contraction counter and other stuff like that. Give “clues” to daddy on how momma is feeling and reminders to do things to make momma feel better (or just to show some love).

    • Also a first timer, but my Husband has been using the “Daddy Up” app and loves it!


Add Comment

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required *

*

Learn to have an amazing birth

(without leaving your couch)

Baby Name Finder

Discover thousands of unique and popular baby names with Mama Natural’s NEW Baby Name Finder.