Whether you’re tracking your cycle, learning more about your pregnancy, or working to improve your sleep with young kids at home, Oura’s features are designed to support you in all stages of life.
When your goal is to deliver a happy, healthy baby, Oura is there, too. From conception to the early (sleepless) days of motherhood, these women turned to Oura as their trusted health partner for insights, data, and guidance along the way.
What’s your Oura story? We’d love to hear it.
READ MORE: Pregnancy Insights: Track and Learn More About Your Pregnancy With Oura
Makenna M.
Makenna’s Story
Makenna, who’s a Customer Success Manager at Oura, had been using Oura for a couple of years to track her overall health. She had noticed her menstrual cycles were irregular, but she didn’t think anything was particularly wrong.
Once she started using Oura’s cycle tracking feature, however, she saw that her cycle was extremely irregular and long. She also observed significant spikes in her body temperature trend and experienced hot flashes and unexplained weight gain — which prompted her to seek medical advice.
After seeing her doctor, Makenna was diagnosed with primary ovarian insufficiency, which caused her to go into perimenopause at the age of 27. This would make having kids very difficult, she was told. “It was crushing,” says Makenna, who had plans to have children in the future. She chose to do in vitro fertilization (IVF) twice, but her attempts were unsuccessful.
At her appointment for her third round of IVF, Makenna’s doctor suggested she and her husband try to conceive naturally. Four days later, she noticed a sudden spike in her body temperature trends on Oura. This spike persisted for weeks, prompting her to take a pregnancy test. She was delighted to discover she was pregnant!
In February, Makenna gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Maya.
Makenna’s Tip: Keep a Close Eye on Your Data
“Oura cannot diagnose a medical condition, but as you track your Oura data over weeks, months, and even years, you’ll start to notice patterns. When something seems off – like the spikes in my body temperature trends and irregular cycles – it can motivate you to seek medical advice, like I did.”
Michelle L.
Michelle’s Story
Michelle, the founder and CEO of a wellness brand, Holisticism, had a difficult pregnancy. “Most of my wellness routine went out the window,” she says. “Finding my footing while my body was changing rapidly, and while balancing long hours at work, was tough.”
At six months pregnant, she had a scare when she started having contractions, “I knew I had to slow down and take my rest more seriously,” Michelle recalls. Oura’s daily insight messages and reminders to stretch her legs or take a break encouraged her to prioritize her health and take her foot off the pedal at work. She enjoyed wearing Oura Ring throughout her pregnancy to track her heart rate — so much so, that she even wore it during labor!
These valuable lessons lasted after she had her baby. “I just want to go, go, go, but especially postpartum, that doesn’t work,” she says.
READ MORE: What Happens to Your Body During Pregnancy, According to Oura Member Data
Michelle’s Tip: The Information is Yours to Interpret
“Everything is information, and we get to choose what to do with that information. The data I get from my Oura Ring is just information for me – I decide how to interpret and act on what I’ve learned.”
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Bridgette S.
Bridgette’s Story
Bridgette is a healthcare worker, blogger, and mom of two. After being diagnosed with postpartum anxiety (PPA) after her firstborn, she joined Oura to get accurate health insights to make sure she was taking care of herself. “Oura reminds me to give myself grace,” she says. A low Sleep Score or Readiness Score reminds Bridgette to take it easy, since overdoing it exacerbates her PPA.
She also used Oura’s integration with Natural Cycles to plan her second pregnancy, and recently gave birth to a baby boy. Prioritizing her health this time around has helped her manage her PPA and feel more in control of her health.
Now, when Bridgette does experience stress or anxiety, she often turns to the guided breathwork and meditation practices in Oura’s Explore content.
Bridgette’s Tip: Pay Attention to Your Body’s Signals
“Oura gave me clear insights into how I was sleeping, how much exercise I was getting, and how my body was responding during pregnancy and postpartum periods. These are vital insights for someone struggling with anxiety, so it was a key component of my treatment to get back to my positive self.”
Sanya D.
Sanya’s Story
Sanya, Oura’s Director of Partnerships, lives a fast-paced life in New York City. During pregnancy, her Oura data helped her understand how her body was changing and realize the importance of slowing down.
“During pregnancy, I noticed my body’s temperature trends rose while my HRV fell,” Sanya says.
To help promote recovery, Sanya began incorporating several new habits: wind-down rituals, regular breaks, more movement, sunlight, and a screen-free half-hour before bed. “Though my Oura Scores are not back to pre-pregnancy levels, these adjustments noticeably improved my well-being. By the third trimester, my scores began to climb again.”
In February, Sanya gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Zayn.
Sanya’s Tip: Use Oura to guide your recovery routines
Using Oura’s Tags feature, Sanya was empowered to see the effects of her new routines on her Oura Scores and biometrics like HRV. For example, you can tag “morning sunlight” to see how your Sleep Score is affected on days you get it as opposed to days you don’t.
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Laura
Laura’s Story
Laura is an avid runner, weight lifter, marketing professional, and the proud mother of two boys.
When she got pregnant, she knew she wanted to keep up with her active lifestyle. However, as someone with an “athlete’s mindset” and a tendency to overtrain, she knew that she had to scale back the intensity for the sake of her baby. To balance her activity, she used Oura.
Every morning, Laura assessed her Readiness Score to determine when to work out and when her body needed rest. Though her natural inclination may have been to push through, her Oura data and insights kept her in check: “Oura reminded me I’m not trying to gain, just maintain,” she says.
When she did exercise during pregnancy, Laura closely monitored her workout heart rate to ensure it wasn’t too high – which can be dangerous when pregnant. She was able to go on runs and take fitness classes up until she gave birth, which she attributes to Oura helping her prioritize rest and recovery and keep track of her heart health.
Laura’s Tip: Be Kind to Yourself
“People can have really strong opinions about working out during pregnancy, and I was surprised at how many people tried to shame me for what I was doing. But I knew myself, and I knew my body. I’d spoken with my doctor and other women who were on the same journey. There’s so much misinformation out there when it is so much more important to get to know and listen to your body.”
Cassidy N.
Cassidy’s Story
Cassidy is a health and nutrition counselor and is always on the lookout for ways to improve her health. After giving birth, her poor sleep led her to start tracking her sleep with Oura, so she could learn how much shuteye she was actually getting.
After learning about her sleep patterns with Oura, Cassidy realized she feels best when she gets 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep. In order to account for the nightly interruptions to care for her baby, she goes to bed 2 hours earlier than her previous bedtime. She was happy to see that even with nightly interruptions, she could still get a good night’s sleep.
Cassidy’s Tip: You May Get More Sleep Than You Think!
“It’s been a great learning experience to see that even an interrupted night can give me a great Sleep Score which makes me happy. It also alleviates pressure to want my baby to sleep through the night, as I know I can be well rested and have a great Readiness Score without that.”
Jessie’s Story
Jessie has had her Oura Ring for nearly three years, and in that time, she has grown her family by two. She has used Oura in both pregnancies and postpartum transition, and it has been a “lifesaver.” After her first baby was born, Jessie relied on the sleep meditations in Explore content to help her fall asleep quickly while her newborn napped.
Now in her second pregnancy, Jessie uses Pregnancy Insights to track her gestational age and make sure she’s being mindful of her health and sleep while looking after a toddler. For both of her pregnancies, Oura spotted prolonged elevated body temperatures, which alerted Jessie in both cases to take a pregnancy test. This is how she discovered she was pregnant.
Jessie enjoys staying active, and using the activity tracking features on Oura has helped her stay accountable while taking into consideration the needs of her body.
Jessie’s Tip: Enjoy the Ride!
“I started my Oura journey focusing on weight loss, but the past couple of years have unfolded for me in unexpected ways, and Oura has been so helpful for all that. I have a new appreciation for my body and health and what I can accomplish. You don’t have to be just one thing: an athlete, a parent, or someone trying to lose weight. Even if your goals and focuses change, the information that Oura gives you can help you in so many diverse ways.”
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