Red raspberry leaf tea is an ancient tonic—pregnant women as early as the 6th century drank the stuff. It is still a popular herbal supplement for pregnancy today, with claimed benefits ranging from it’s ability to strengthen the uterus and help prepare the body for birth to directly stimulating labor (in one survey, more than […]

There is no other organ quite like the uterus. If men had such an organ they would brag about it. So should we.” – Ina May Gasken Let’s talk about the uterus. All of us lived inside one at some point of our lives. Many of us have the great luck to use ours to […]

Perhaps you’ve changed your diet. Perhaps you’ve changed your exercise routine. Or coffee intake or sleep habits, or any number of little lifestyle adjustments to have a healthy pregnancy. I know you have a lot on your plate, my pregnant friend, but I’m just going to throw one more thing onto it—stress management. Stress management […]

Have you had a sneaking suspicion that your contractions get worse* at night? Maybe it feels like your pregnant body just wants to find another way to wake you up in the middle of the night. Maybe you haven’t felt them but wake up on feeling like you just ran a marathon. If you fall […]

It’s never fun to hear that your placenta is in the wrong spot. Honestly, I didn’t even know that was a possibility until my 20 week ultrasound when the sonographer told me I had a low lying placenta. In her words: “Not technically placenta previa but your placenta is very close to your cervical opening […]

Let’s talk about stress during pregnancy. Don’t worry, I’m not going to launch into a post about all the ways your stress can harm your baby or why you need to stop stressing about stress. Those types of posts are not entirely accurate and not very helpful. Instead, I want to shift the way you […]

Stress management in pregnancy is just as important as eating well and exercising and can help you toward your specific pregnancy, labor, and birth goals.

Is the "nocturnal surge" actually a thing? Can we use it to predict labor? We can answer these questions!

There is one simple difference between Braxton Hicks and labor contractions: the end result. Have a baby?  Those were labor contractions. No baby?  Braxton Hicks. Ok, that’s not very helpful if you are trying to tell the two apart without a crystal ball on hand. But you can use a few tricks to tell Braxton […]

At Bloomlife, we’re working on a feature that will allow you to check in with your body to find balance and work towards reducing your daily stress. The mind and body are intimately connected, especially when it comes to pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum recovery. Bloomlife Mind-Body is a stress management tool that focuses on […]

Both of my daughters arrived “late” according to the dates in my charts. Both girls seemed to mock the very concept of a “Due Date”. The little one, especially—she showed up a mere 30 minutes before my scheduled induction, 11 days after the day she was clinically expected to arrive. I am not alone. The […]

Alysia Montano, Olympian, 7x US Champion, mom, "that pregnant runner", tells us all about training for labor and birth.

If February is your "Due Month", you can count on one day to be the most likely birth date - Feb 14th. What the science says about Valentine's Day babies.

DHA WEEK 31 weight: 3.31 lbs.  |   length: 16.18″     WHAT’S GOING ON IN THERE? Baby is preparing for rapid weight gain.   What do I need and why? Some good fatty fats! It started in week 24, but now baby’s fat storage is really hitting its stride – over the next two months, deposits […]

  STEP 1: MENTAL PREPARATION “As I prepare for a major competition, I dial in my mantras, I will myself to believe I can overcome the challenge that lay ahead and that I can handle it. This is a daily practice. So for me, as I prepare for childbirth it makes sense that I prepare […]

What works, what doesn't, and what does science say about natural induction techniques? You may be surprised!

“A contraction monitor?” you say, “What kind of gift is a contraction monitor?”  Um, the perfect gift for a pregnant friend, of course. Hear us out. Babies get all the gifts. The cute towel with the hood to make post-bath baby look like a monkey. The three copies of Goodnight Moon. The scary stuffed animal […]

Was my labor "normal"? What we know, what we don't know, and what we need to know about science of labor.

Did you know that new dads' brains go through a complete rewiring?

The biology of how new dads transform into mushy, baby cuddle machines.

What does a contraction feel like? What are the differences between Braxton Hicks contractions and labor contractions? Am I in labor?

We asked our favorite midwife, OB/GYN, birth doula, and birth educator to help us answer these questions and share their own birth stories.

Exercise is so important during pregnancy but is there such thing as "running for two"? What the science says about running with a baby on board.

VITAMIN D WEEK 32 weight: 3.75 lbs.  |   length: 16.69″     WHAT’S GOING ON IN THERE? Baby’s bones have fully developed but they are still a bit soft. From week 32 onward, they’ll be getting stronger and stronger and preparing for life on the outside.   What do I need and why? VITAMIN D is […]

Every mother deserves a safe pregnancy and birth.

Why the Bloom family is donating to Every Mother Counts in honor of our moms this Mother's Day

Has your baby oven been called names?

What does it mean to have an "irritable uterus" and where did this name even come from?

You know you've been wondering... 

Would you rather know if baby is the size of an orange or that the vitamin C in an orange helps lung development in week 8? For the nerds like us, we present The Baby Building Blocks Newsletter - the What, When, Why, and How of Prenatal Nutrition.

Why do I feel Braxton Hicks all day? If you are lucky enough to get acquainted with good ‘ol Braxton Hicks nice and early in your pregnancy, you may notice that it feels like you get these pesky non-labor contractions all day. Braxton Hicks are a pretty normal part of pregnancy and some women just […]