Giving Birth - Everything You Need to Know - Motherly
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Birth

It’s go time, mama! Whether you’re counting down the days or trying to plan ahead, learn more about giving birth with advice and essays from real mamas.

mom holding newborn baby

Giving birth during the coronavirus? Here’s what to know, mama

8 tips for giving birth during a pandemic, according to a doula.

Updated Jan. 18, 2022
Becoming Mama book

The essential pregnancy & birth book is here: The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama

You deserve a pregnancy and birth book made for you.

Updated Apr. 04, 2022

I’m days away from giving birth during the coronavirus pandemic

My body is stretched beyond recognition, but I now find myself hoping and wishing that he would stay tucked safely inside just a little while longer.

Updated Oct. 14, 2021

Morgan Miller shares Instagram video of incredible twin home birth—here’s why

While the twin birth was certainly dramatic, the couple couldn't be happier with how it all unfolded. "It was literally ideal," Bode said. "[It was] a lot for everybody to experience, you couldn't have had it be cooler for everybody involved."

Updated Jan. 23, 2023
moms selfie with her toddler - traumatic birth story

Kristen on her delivery triggering PPD, PPA and psychosis

I would stay in bed all day and night. I’d stay up all hours of the night, sobbing, not understanding my feelings.

Updated Sep. 29, 2022

An ode to my first pair of mom underwear

Every time I go to throw them away, I feel a pang of guilt. This underwear saved my life. Okay, maybe it wasn't that extreme, but it did bring me comfort. This package of underwear was the first step towards regaining some semblance of dignity and normalcy after giving birth. This underwear propelled me into motherhood.

Updated Feb. 03, 2022
mom holding newborn baby in spite of declining birth rates

Why are birth rates declining in the US?

"These are not small co-pays. The costs are staggering," says Dr. Michelle Moniz, M.D.,M.Sc., an obstetrician-gynecologist at Michigan Medicine's Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital and researcher with the U-M Institute of Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

Updated Jan. 19, 2023
hospital bag products

I’m giving birth soon—these are the 23 items I’m packing in my hospital bag

As a second-time mama, I learned a lot the first time around.

Updated Nov. 01, 2022
mom holding baby in a pool after water birth

New research on water births could see more mothers asking for them in hospitals

Would you choose or did you have a water birth, mama?

Updated Sep. 29, 2022

Labor + delivery FAQs

Join pediatric nurse, midwife and Motherly’s Digital Education Editor Diana Spalding as…

Updated Feb. 19, 2025
mom holding swaddled newborn

The complicated problem with ‘baby-friendly’ hospitals

They might not be as 'mom-friendly' as we need them to be.

Updated Feb. 04, 2022
mom delivering baby by scheduled second C-section

My birth story: A scheduled second C-section

Although I didn't push, I gave birth just the same. It diminished nothing about the moment of becoming a mother again.

Updated Oct. 05, 2022

Your birth plan worksheet: The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama

10 questions to consider when writing your birth plan

Updated Mar. 28, 2025
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