I've been helping women and their families have babies for nearly 15 years now, and I can say with absolute certainty that the iPhone has revolutionized one particular aspect of childbirth: Tracking.
Parents can track just about every bodily function of mother and child from pregnancy, through labor and birth, and well into the postpartum months. In homes and hospitals across the country, you will find mothers, partners and even providers glued to their iPhones in wait of a contraction, kick, feeding session or dirty diaper. In fact, at nearly every birth I've attended in the last several months, I arrived to find dad or partner monitoring mom's contractions on the uber-popular Contraction Tracker application rather than a wall clock or watch.
iPhone and other electronic "apps" are the new rage in childbirth, providing information on everything from pregnancy nutrition to standard childbirth education curriculum to breastfeeding.
Here's a look at a few of the most popular "apps" before, during and after labor.
Ovulation Calendar: This application turns your iPhone into a baby maker by computing your monthly ovulation cycle. You can use it to avoid or to get pregnant.
Hello Baby Pregnancy Calendar: This app from Pampers gives you simulated life-size baby development on your iPad. You can enter your due date to track week-by-week typical progress and learn about the important changes happening. This iPad app also allows parents to see how a baby grows during pregnancy, view close-ups of little hands and feet, and listen to what a heartbeat might sound like.
BabyGender Predictor: This application predicts the baby's gender by using the Chinese Gender Chart. Legend says that the Chinese Gender Chart was buried in a royal tomb near Beijing over 700 years ago. The original is allegedly in the Institute of Science in Beijing.
iBirth – Childbirth Class in a Nutshell: Two childbirth educators have taken the most crucial information from childbirth classes and condensed it into an easy-to-use all-in-one program. iBirth contains the most essential information regarding prenatal nutrition, enhancing labor progress and comfort, and preparing for baby's birth.
50,000 Baby Names PLUS: 50,000 Baby Names Picker is a free tool to help expecting parents find the perfect baby name. The app uses Sound Print technology to offer similar sounding names – great for brainstorming unique baby names.
Pregnancy Kick Counter: This app is designed to help women who are 25 weeks or later in pregnancy keep tabs on how often baby kicks by simply pushing a button.
Contraction Master: This app gives you the exact distance between and duration of contractions. The iPhone app features two screens: a Timer screen with a single, large button to start and stop the timer; and a History screen to review your contraction log.
Nursing Master: This app tracks both breast and bottle feeding for up to 10 babies. Nursing Master offers a detailed log of nursing sessions, including side used, start time, duration per side, and combined left/right duration. The app also offers a detailed log of bottle feedings, including start time, amount consumed and type of liquid (expressed breast milk, formula, milk, soy-based formula, soy-milk and water.)
Total Baby: This app gives you a complete summary of your child's day. Track when baby poops and pees, and how often he or she nurses or eats solids, sleeps, takes medication, and more. You can also log vaccines, allergies and other vital health information.
Baby Brain: Your Baby Log: Very popular, this one. The app tracks and logs nursing, diapers, baby sleep habits, feedings and more.
Cheryl Murfin is a Seattle freelance writer, a certified doula and owner of NestingInstincts.com doula services.
