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 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
Jennifer Garner and Kristen Bell eating

Everybody’s birth is different—just ask Jennifer Garner and Kristen Bell

Jennifer Garner described giving birth as "romantic" and Kristen Bell totally disagreed.

Updated Feb. 01, 2022

Sydney Leroux returns to pro soccer 3 months after giving birth

Leroux just showed the world that motherhood doesn't have to end an athlete's career. Mothers are strong.

Updated Jan. 23, 2023

What went viral this week: Toddler BFFs & a teacher who gave birth at school

In an age when outrage and anger dominate online spaces, we fill this space with uplifting news each week.

Updated Mar. 17, 2025
barbra and son - unplanned c-section

Barbra on feeling robbed and depressed after needing a C-section

"New moms are at once the strongest people you will ever meet and the weakest. They are at once warriors and defeated soldiers."

Updated Oct. 06, 2022

5 surprising birth stories from ‘Bachelor’ contestants

You can't write a better Bachelor ending than that!

Updated Feb. 18, 2025

Talk about a baby boom: This NICU has 36 nurses having a baby this year

"We always have a baby boom going on like this," says Allison Ronco, a critical care education coordinator and nurse for the hospital."

Updated Jan. 23, 2023

Lake Bell shares how her home births didn’t go as planned

Bell says that she grappled with some guilt over her decision to have a home birth in the aftermath of this experience.

Updated Jan. 23, 2023

Claire Holt’s birth story answers so many questions about induced labor

Holt is refreshingly open about every measure doctors took for induction.

Updated Jan. 30, 2023
woman recovering from a c section

Recovering from my C-section was harder than I imagined

Why was I in so much pain? Am I weaker than all of these other women? How did they make it through this? Why is this so difficult for me?

Updated Oct. 04, 2022

Jessa Duggar shares the story of her accidental home birth

Having a baby doesn't always go according to plan.

Updated Feb. 18, 2025
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