Birth

6 expert tips on how to prepare for your first birth

2. Babies don't always follow birth plans, and that's OK.

C-section swelling may be common, but is it normal to swell above the incision?

Here's how to tell if swelling is normal or a sign of infection.

4 things I didn’t know would change about myself after baby

3. My sex drive.

A brief history of the C-section

‘House of the Dragon’ highlights the fact that C-sections used to look very different from how they look today.

No doula? No problem—experts share how to advocate for yourself during pregnancy

Yes, you can still advocate for yourself, even without a doula.

How to have a positive birth experience with a C-section

Together with my doctor, we created a plan for my C-section to become the birth experience I wanted it to be. 

Why my twins’ premature birth still haunts me

I held the twins for the first time when they were one day old.

An overlooked tool in pregnancy and birth? Breathwork

Let’s get back to the inhale, exhale, mama.

Dreading pregnancy or childbirth? It may be tokophobia 

Fear of giving birth can exist on a spectrum, but tokophobia is a rare, severe form. It may cause some women to elect for a C-section or avoid pregnancy altogether.

This is Motherhood: Jamie Jones wants BIPOC moms to get the birth support they need

In this bonus episode of the Motherly Podcast, guest host Joyce Brewer speaks with Jamie Jones, a childbirth educator at Birthsmarter, a doula, a pre- and postnatal corrective exercise specialist, and a certified personal trainer.

The heartwarming reason why this 8-year-old delivered her baby sister

How involving her daughter in her deliveries helped them both heal from pregnancy loss. 

Mamas in Ukraine—and around the world—achieve the impossible

And while she was acknowledging her own pain she also said, “I could be giving birth in Ukraine right now—someone probably is doing that right now.” Women give birth in war zones, in hiding, in abusive homes, sometimes completely alone.

These photos from a trans father’s home birth are stunning 😍

"When I saw the photos I suddenly got the sense that they need to be out there, as they represent so well two causes very close to my heart: normalization of home birth and normalization of trans and non-binary people giving birth."

What Black mothers-to-be need to know before giving birth

I was confident in my ability to have the birth experience that I wanted. Unfortunately, that didn’t end up being the case. Now, I hope other Black mothers-to-be can learn from my experience and how to prepare themselves for all possible birthing scenarios.

Study finds some C-section babies may not need routine antibiotics

The findings can help prevent giving some infants unnecessary antibiotics at birth.

My epidural worked *too* well—here’s what I wish I knew

I had a panic attack while in labor, but now I know what to ask for next time.

4 simple things you can do to have a better hospital birth

It’s possible to have a great birth experience in a hospital. You just need a game plan in place before your due date.

Where does the placenta come from? We didn’t know either

The placenta is a fascinating organ you probably know little to nothing about.

What we wish we packed in our hospital bags

The moment you start feeling contractions is not when you want to toss together the bag.

These are the best birth photos of 2021—and they’re breathtaking

These are the winners of the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers 2021 Birth Photography Image Competition.