Week by week, and the moment you put the phone down
Pregnancy apps do three useful things: they explain what is happening this week, they hold the appointments and the questions you thought of at two in the morning, and they time things on the day. They also carry an enormous amount of generic content, a shop, and in several cases an advertising business built on the most predictable purchasing event in a person's life. Knowing which part is which makes them much better tools.
What an app is, and what it is not
Everything in a week-by-week app is written for an average pregnancy and adjusted only by a date you typed in. It does not know anything about you. Your maternity notes and the people at your appointments do, and where the two disagree, the app is the one that is wrong.
| What the app offers | What it actually is | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Week-by-week development | General content on a timer | Reading, not a milestone to hit |
| Due date countdown | Arithmetic from the date you entered | Use the dating scan's estimate |
| Kick or movement counter | A tally you keep by hand | Follow your midwife's instruction, not the app's |
| Contraction timer | A stopwatch that averages intervals | Useful on the day, and only that |
| Symptom checkers and forums | Other people's pregnancies | Interesting, not advice |
| Appointment and question lists | A notebook | The genuinely valuable part |
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The apps
Pregnancy+. The most widely used week-by-week app, with clear illustrations, a kick counter, a contraction timer and a hospital bag list in one place. Free tier covers most of it.
Long established, with the largest community attached and a birth club for your due month. The forums are the reason people install it and also the reason to take what you read with care.
Lighter and quieter than the big two, with a clean weekly summary and fewer prompts to buy something. A good first choice if the others feel busy.
Week-by-week content with a weight tracker, a kick counter and a contraction timer, all working without an account.
What to Expect. The app of the book, with the same tone: thorough, reassuring and American in its references to care pathways, which matters if you are not in the United States.
Day-by-day rather than week-by-week, which suits people who want something small to read every morning rather than a weekly essay.
Straightforward weekly tracking with a checklist structure, and it does not require you to sign in to see your own data.
Strong on the practical side: appointment tracking, a registry and a good set of checklists. Heavier on shopping than the others.
Ovia. Data-led, with questions each week and tailored content in response. Read its privacy policy specifically, because the model here is built on what you answer.
Preglife. European in its care references, calm in tone, and a reasonable alternative if the large apps assume a system you are not in.
A contraction timer that does one job well: a big button, an average interval and duration, and a shareable summary. The one to have on the day.
The same job from the same developer as one of the trackers above, which keeps everything in one account if you prefer that.
A third timer, notable for being readable at a glance when you are not in a state to read anything. Free and small.
Prenatal yoga sessions generated to a length you choose rather than fixed videos, with an unusually generous free offering. Check with your midwife before starting anything new.
For the hospital bag, the paperwork and the hundred small jobs. A shared list with a partner does more for the third trimester than any pregnancy app.
The two in the morning questions, kept somewhere you will actually find them at the appointment. One note per appointment, newest at the top.
Sleep tracking without a wearable, for the months when sleep becomes the main topic. Take its numbers as trends and its alarm as the useful feature.
The phone, on the day
- Put the maternity unit number in your contacts and on paper Not in an app, and not only in your head. Somebody else may be making the call.
- Download and screenshot the things you will need Your notes summary, a birth preferences page, parking and entrance information. Hospital signal is unreliable and basements are worse.
- Pack a long cable and a battery pack The socket is never next to the bed. This is the single most repeated piece of advice from everybody who has done it.
- Turn the contraction timer into a home screen shortcut At three in the morning nobody wants to search for an app. One tap, one large button.
- Set the phone to keep notifications quiet but calls through Do not disturb with an exception for your partner and the unit. The alternative is a phone that buzzes for two days.
- Decide about photographs in advance Including whether the hospital permits them where you will be. Agreeing this beforehand avoids a conversation nobody wants to have at the time.
- Write down who gets told, and when Then one person sends the messages. This saves a genuinely surprising amount of energy.
The data, and the advertising
- An app that works without an account
- Content you can read offline
- A clear, findable delete-my-data option
- Optional community, separate from the tracker
- A contraction timer that asks for nothing
- Handing over a due date to a shopping network
- Permissions unrelated to anything the app does
- Sharing with partners described only in general terms
- Free samples in exchange for your address
- Anything presenting itself as monitoring
A due date is unusually valuable commercial information, and some of these apps are funded accordingly. That is not a reason to avoid all of them, but it is a reason to use a spare email address, to decline the sample boxes unless you actually want the post, and to prefer the apps that will show you a week's content without knowing who you are.
Use the scan's date, keep the appointment questions in a notes app, have one contraction timer one tap away, and put the maternity number somewhere that does not need a battery.
Frequently asked questions
Which due date should I use, the app's or the scan's?
The dating scan's estimate, because that is the one your maternity records and your care are based on. Enter it into the app rather than letting the app calculate its own from a date.
Are contraction timer apps accurate?
They time and average exactly what you tap, which is all they claim. They are not detecting contractions, and the guidance on when to go in comes from your maternity unit rather than from the app.
Should I count kicks with an app?
Only in line with what your midwife has told you, because the advice varies and has changed. The important thing an app cannot do is notice a change in the usual pattern, which is what you should be reporting.
Is it worth paying for the premium version?
Rarely. The paid tiers mostly add content rather than function, and the functional parts, the timer and the lists, are free in several apps.
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