These days, a smartphone or an iPad gives you lots of information literally in the palm of your hand. Cutting through the fluff to find the really useful stuff can be a real pain! I’ve found a few apps to be really useful to me in my birth work:
iBirth If you only get one app, this should be the one! This app has a contraction timer, information about nutrition, tips and lists, and my personal favorite: the VIDEOS! It includes many short videos of labor skills. I often open this up on my phone or iPad to show a client exactly what I’d like them to do.
Kindle App I use this all the time just for reading, but at births, I love to have reference books available. My favorites I have loaded in my Kindle app are The Birth Partner (Recommend for parents) Deliver! A concise guide to helping the woman you love through labor (also for parents) and The Labor Progress Handbook (recommended for birth professionals)
LactMed This free app is a fantastic resource for information on drugs and breastfeeding!
Bishop’s Score Calc This is a good one for moms considering an induction. You can tap in the information and it gives you valuable information in return, including an estimated cesarean rate for inductions in those circumstances. It doesn’t factor in complications that may make induction a good idea anyway, but it can be a useful tool for those thinking about induction for non-medical reasons.
Blausen Reproductive Atlas This cool app has videos showing various things about the anatomy and physiology of pregnancy and birth, as well as common medical procedures.
What are your favorite apps for pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and postpartum? I’d love to hear from both moms and birth professionals!