Giving Birth - Everything You Need to Know - Motherly
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Birth

Birth can feel like ‘the big unknown,” because, well, it is. Whether this is your first or your fourth, no two births are alike. Simply put, you’re bound to come out changed on the other side. From beautiful birth stories to empowering info. about labor and delivery, we’re here to help you learn more about this major moment.

Labor & Delivery

hailey beiber
Postpartum

Hailey Bieber opens up about birth trauma, postpartum identity shifts, and finding herself again

“Being postpartum is the most sensitive time I’ve ever gone through in my life,” she said. “Learning a new version of myself is very difficult.”

Updated May. 22, 2025
Postpartum, Birth, Labor & Delivery
Nurse
Labor & Delivery

Labor nurse begins her shift like any other—then her own baby arrives

As a labor and delivery nurse, Allison knew the process, the people, and the plan. But sometimes, knowing too much can be a double-edged sword.

Updated Apr. 23, 2025
Labor & Delivery, Birth
Black moms: A Black mom cradling her belly
Birth

Black Moms are being told to ‘speak up’ during birth—but they deserve better, too

Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. 

Updated Dec. 16, 2024
Birth, Labor & Delivery, Women's Health
Doula
Birth

Why every mom deserves a doula (and how Texas is stepping up to help)

Black women are over three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.

Updated Dec. 13, 2024
Birth, Birth Stories, Health & Wellness, Labor & Delivery

Birth Stories

Baby comes home
Birth Stories

They went in for a 38-week appointment… and came home with a baby

Updated Aug. 27, 2025
Birth Stories, Baby, Birth, Parenting
Uterine transplant
Birth

A mom donated her uterus to help another woman carry a baby—now they’ve met the child they made possible

Sara had donated her uterus so that Emma, who was born without one, could experience pregnancy.

Updated Jul. 15, 2025
Birth, Birth Stories, Parenting
WOMB TRANSPLANT
Baby

A womb transplant between sisters led to this history-making birth—and new hope for families everywhere

After a decade of waiting, Grace and her husband Angus welcomed their miracle baby, Amy Isabel — the first child in the UK born following a womb transplant.

Updated Apr. 10, 2025
Baby, Baby Health, Birth, Birth Stories, Health & Wellness, News, Women's Health
40 weeks pregnant
Birth

This mom tried something wild at 40 weeks to induce labor—and spoiler: it worked

At 40 weeks pregnant, many moms are searching for anything—anything—to get labor going.

Updated Apr. 04, 2025
Birth, Birth Stories, Fitness, Health & Wellness, News, Viral & Trending
mums in 40s
Birth

A historic shift: More babies now born to women over 40 than to teens

According to a brand new report from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System, births among women in their 40s have more than tripled since 1990, while the teen birth rate has plummeted to a historic low.

Updated Apr. 03, 2025
Birth, Birth Stories, Getting Pregnant, Health & Wellness, Women's Health
A newborn baby
Birth Stories

A grandmother helps deliver her grandson in a car—just hours after losing her own mother

The timing of Noah’s birth—just hours after the passing of his great-grandmother—felt like something more than coincidence.

Updated Mar. 05, 2025
Birth Stories, Birth, Grandparents & Extended Families, Relationships

C-Section

Kylie Kelce
C-Section

Kylie Kelce shuts down harmful claim that C-sections aren’t “real” births

“They just had massive abdominal surgery to get out the human life that they just built.”

Updated Apr. 04, 2025
C-Section, Birth, Child
mom snuggling a newborn baby against her chest
Postpartum Products

Your postpartum recovery kit: Feel your best after a C-section

Cesarean section mamas are absolute warriors.

Updated Feb. 17, 2022
Postpartum Products, C-Section, Health & Wellness, Postpartum, Women's Health
woman showing c-section scar, which she will treat with natural home remedies for c-section recovery
C-Section

8 natural C-section recovery tips to help you feel better fast

These tips can help you heal faster, naturally.

Updated Sep. 27, 2022
C-Section, Women's Health
mom kissing baby's feet because she knows what to expect during a c-section
C-Section

What to expect during a C-section: 27 things I wish I’d known

3. Each day gets a little bit better.

Updated Sep. 21, 2022
C-Section, Women's Health

Explore More

Baby comes home
Birth Stories

They went in for a 38-week appointment… and came home with a baby

At 38 weeks pregnant, they expected a quick check-in with their doctor and then to head back home to keep preparing for their baby’s arrival.

Updated Aug. 27, 2025
Birth Stories, Baby, Birth, Parenting
Babies
News

The best states to have a baby in 2025 (and the 10 that need to do better)

For many parents, the financial and logistical realities of birth are prompting a bigger question: What does “baby-friendly” actually look like when you’re the one giving birth?

Updated Aug. 06, 2025
News, Birth, Parenting
ivf
Baby

A 30-year-old embryo just became a newborn—and his big sister is already a mom

This is a story where time folds in on itself: a child conceived in one century, born in another, sharing DNA with a sister who now tucks her own children into bed.

Updated Aug. 01, 2025
Baby, Birth, Parenting
Girl or boy
Parenting

Your odds of having a boy or girl might not be 50/50—here’s what affects it 

For families raising all boys or all girls, this might offer a scientific explanation.

Updated Jul. 23, 2025
Parenting, Baby, Birth, Life
Uterine transplant
Birth

A mom donated her uterus to help another woman carry a baby—now they’ve met the child they made possible

Sara had donated her uterus so that Emma, who was born without one, could experience pregnancy.

Updated Jul. 15, 2025
Birth, Birth Stories, Parenting
Mom talking about Postpartum USA vs Mexico
Postpartum

New mom compares postpartum in a Mexican vs. American household—and the difference is everything

She opens up about the stark contrast between her American mother’s approach to postpartum and that of her Mexican mother-in-law, and how that difference reshaped her understanding of what new mothers truly need.

Updated Jul. 11, 2025
Postpartum, Birth
NICU baby
Postpartum

When the baby is in the NICU, who’s caring for the mom? A new model is changing that

The Postpartum Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PeliCaN) model brings doulas and nurse-midwives directly into the NICU, helping mothers access the care they urgently need without leaving their baby’s side.

Updated Jun. 05, 2025
Postpartum, Birth
viral video of mom explaining the number one mistake people make when visiting a mom who just gave birth
Birth

The one mistake people keep making when visiting moms who just gave birth

“By offering to take my child, you’re putting me in ‘fight or flight’ mode,” Cox told Today.

Updated May. 28, 2025
Birth
hopeful parents
Pregnancy

A one-hour mouth swab may make IVF more successful—here’s what hopeful parents should know

A recent study from Lund University has found that a quick, non-invasive mouth swab could help doctors personalize hormone treatments for IVF.

Updated May. 28, 2025
Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum
canadian mom
Postpartum

Mom wins 62-mile ultramarathon 6 months after giving birth—while breastfeeding her baby along the way

“Coming back to running postpartum, I just wanted to discover that joy again and reconnect with the core part of my identity that was a runner through and through.”

Updated May. 27, 2025
Postpartum, Birth
hailey beiber
Postpartum

Hailey Bieber opens up about birth trauma, postpartum identity shifts, and finding herself again

“Being postpartum is the most sensitive time I’ve ever gone through in my life,” she said. “Learning a new version of myself is very difficult.”

Updated May. 22, 2025
Postpartum, Birth, Labor & Delivery
Pregnant woman
Pregnancy

30% of maternal deaths happen after 6 weeks—but most are preventable

From 2018 to 2022, pregnancy-related deaths rose by nearly 28% in the U.S.

Updated Apr. 23, 2025
Pregnancy, Birth
Nurse
Labor & Delivery

Labor nurse begins her shift like any other—then her own baby arrives

As a labor and delivery nurse, Allison knew the process, the people, and the plan. But sometimes, knowing too much can be a double-edged sword.

Updated Apr. 23, 2025
Labor & Delivery, Birth
Dad preparing for his daughter's due date
Grandparents & Extended Families

This dad turned his daughter’s due date into the ultimate family game—and the internet is obsessed

He even makes his own lined paper—a detail TikTok can’t get over.

Updated Apr. 21, 2025
Grandparents & Extended Families, Birth, Relationships
Kylie Kelce
Postpartum

Kylie Kelce’s dos and don’ts for talking to postpartum moms (because some of y’all need a reminder)

In her “Postpartum Special” episode of Not Gonna Lie, Kylie dives into the raw, unfiltered experience of welcoming baby number four.

Updated Apr. 11, 2025
Postpartum, Birth
WOMB TRANSPLANT
Baby

A womb transplant between sisters led to this history-making birth—and new hope for families everywhere

After a decade of waiting, Grace and her husband Angus welcomed their miracle baby, Amy Isabel — the first child in the UK born following a womb transplant.

Updated Apr. 10, 2025
Baby, Baby Health, Birth, Birth Stories, Health & Wellness, News, Women's Health
40 weeks pregnant
Birth

This mom tried something wild at 40 weeks to induce labor—and spoiler: it worked

At 40 weeks pregnant, many moms are searching for anything—anything—to get labor going.

Updated Apr. 04, 2025
Birth, Birth Stories, Fitness, Health & Wellness, News, Viral & Trending
mums in 40s
Birth

A historic shift: More babies now born to women over 40 than to teens

According to a brand new report from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System, births among women in their 40s have more than tripled since 1990, while the teen birth rate has plummeted to a historic low.

Updated Apr. 03, 2025
Birth, Birth Stories, Getting Pregnant, Health & Wellness, Women's Health
NICU baby
Baby Health

Doctors weren’t sure he’d survive—now one of the world’s smallest babies is finally going home to Minnesota

Born at just 8 ounces, Bilal spent his first year defying the odds in the NICU—now, he’s going home to join his four siblings.

Updated Apr. 01, 2025
Baby Health, Baby, Birth
Kylie Kelce
C-Section

Kylie Kelce shuts down harmful claim that C-sections aren’t “real” births

“They just had massive abdominal surgery to get out the human life that they just built.”

Updated Apr. 04, 2025
C-Section, Birth, Child
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