Freya - surge timer for labour

The Positive Birth Company

About this app

Meet Freya, your virtual birth partner from The Positive Birth Company! Freya will coach you through every single surge or contraction using a simple but effective breathing technique. She will help you relax in between between with a mix of guided meditations, positive affirmations, gentle music and calming visualisations. Freya makes it easy for you to keep track of your progress and you can visit the log at any point to see how frequently your surges are coming and how long they are lasting. Freya will also let you know when your labour is established and it might be a good time to contact your midwife. You will never birth alone with Freya by your side.

Recent updates mean you can now choose between four different birth coaches, import voice notes and words of encouragement from friends and famiy to customise your birthing playlist and download your surge history after birth for a keepsake.

In hypnobirthing we refer to contractions as surges partly because it sounds nicer but also because ‘surge’ more accurately describes the sensation you’ll experience when in labour. Freya is the ONLY hypnobirthing-friendly contraction timer on the play store, designed specifically for those using hypnobirthing - using appropriate terminology - but can be used by all.

You can also use Freya in pregnancy to help you relax and prepare for your birth. In fact the more you listen to the guided relaxations and positive affirmations, the more familiar they will become and the more effective the audio will be at helping you relax when it comes to birth. Positive affirmations have been proven to change the way your mind works and listening regularly will help you feel less anxious and more confident in the lead up to birth. And the more relaxed you are during birth, the more oxytocin you will produce which helps your uterus to work efficiently, making labour faster and more comfortable.

You can also use Freya post-birth any time you feel you could benefit from taking some deep breaths or need some help finding your zen. Parenting can be hard but you’ve got Freya; she’s your friend for life! In fact everything you learn through using Freya - mindfulness exercises, breathing techniques, the benefits of taking time out - are skills for life.

If you have any questions or spot any pesky bugs lurking about the place (!) please do let us know at [e-mail]



WHAT YOU’LL GET:

• A timer to record your surges (also known as a contraction timer)
• Coaching audio to keep your mind focused on breathing through each surge
• A gentle expanding visualisation which you can use to breathe in sync with
• A detailed log of your surges over time, so you can track your progress through labour
• Ability to easily share the log with your birth partner, midwife or doula
• Guided relaxations, positive affirmations and soothing visuals to help keep you calm and relaxed, making birth easier, quicker and more straightforward (can also be used in pregnancy and postnatally)
• Option to share your birth story with a personalised birth announcement
• Coaching created by renowned hypnobirthing expert Siobhan Miller, founder of The Positive Birth Company
• You can skip, reorder and even remove tracks from the guided relaxation playlist, so you listen to what you want, when you want. What’s more if things begin to feel a little repetitive you can listen to your own playlist on a third party app (such a Spotify) whilst still using the Freya app to keep track of your surges and coach you through each one.
• You can switch between the 4-8 breathing pattern and the more manageable 3-6. You can also turn off the counting altogether if you prefer.


Download the ONLY hypnobirthing-friendly contraction timer on the play store and prepare to meet your baby in the best possible way, feeling calm and confident, relaxed and happy!

Ratings and reviews

measuring contractions was helpful, although at some point I was tired of pressing the button when in pain. I didn't like the breath counting, and wish I could keep listening to affirmations continuously, but it automatically switched to counting. I had my own counting pattern, which worked better for me. I only used it at home when I could still manage contractions (for 2.5 days), when i went to the hospital, it was not effective for me anymore. also I wish there was more affirmations.

This pairs ok with the online course It is a shame that there isn't a practice mode, that could remind you to practice breathing (like the squeezy app) I wish there were a few more tracks and a music mode, so you could switch between different types of calming music and the affirmations for example. It would also be nice to see the affirmations on the screen It's helpful to have most of the tracks from the course in one place and the backing track for surges is useful.

I've been using this in pregnancy so can't comment on its use for tracking surges during labour but I didn't find it that user friendly/ intuitive. There are some guided meditation and affirmations you can find at the bottom (feel like the fast forward button could be made bigger/clearer?) but no option to pause these. Having said that the breathing guidance and Siobahn's voice are very soothing but think the app could do with a demo/help option.

What's new

Bug fixes and improvements.