Pregnancy Insights: Research, Guidance, and Support

Pregnancy is a time of profound physiological change, and understanding what's happening in your body can help you navigate this journey with greater confidence. WHOOP Pregnancy Insights provides weekly, personalized guidance based on groundbreaking research into how key health metrics shift throughout pregnancy. This article explains what the feature is, how to use it, the science behind it, what to expect from your data, and how to optimize your health during this transformative time.

WHOOP launched a reproductive health study to help close knowledge and education gaps around women's health, a historically underfunded area of research. This work has led to research with the potential to improve health outcomes for expectant parents and infants worldwide. This research powers the Pregnancy Insights feature, serving expectant members with weekly insights and actionable guidance.

What is Pregnancy Insights?

Pregnancy Insights is a WHOOP feature that provides weekly, personalized guidance to help you understand and navigate the physiological changes of pregnancy. By inputting your projected due date, you can unlock tailored insights and recommendations. The feature helps you:

• Receive personalized guidance on rest, hydration, and exercise considerations.
• See your trends for resting heart rate (RHR) and heart rate variability (HRV) throughout each trimester.
• Understand your body's needs by comparing your data to your unique physiological baseline.

How to use Pregnancy Insights

You can unlock this feature by opting-in through the WHOOP app to receive personalized coaching with your weekly trend updates. To enable Pregnancy Insights:

• Navigate to the Health Tab.
• Select Menstrual Cycle Insights.
• Tap on Pregnancy Settings to enable the feature.

You can turn the feature off at any time by following the same steps. When toggled off, an optional survey is available to help further our scientific research.

The research behind the feature

In a study led by WHOOP Senior Vice President of Data Science & Research, Emily Capodilupo, WHOOP identified a key biomarker that may help in identifying full-term and preterm births. The research observed that maternal heart rate variability (HRV) steadily declines throughout pregnancy, and at seven weeks before birth, it inverts and begins to rise. This inversion, labeled the WHOOP Inflection Point, is consistent with the eventual delivery date for both premature and full-term pregnancies.

This research was initially conducted as part of our pregnancy and exercise HRV research with OBGYN Dr. Rowan of West Virginia University. That study was published in the scientific journal BioMed Central but only included research on 18 full-term births. WHOOP expanded the research at a speed and scale not seen in academic research and conducted the March 2022 Reproductive Health Study to evaluate over 2,000 pregnancies and eventually identify this novel digital biomarker.

What to expect from your data during pregnancy

As your body adapts to pregnancy, your WHOOP data will reflect these changes. Here are the typical trends you can expect to see:

Monitoring these trends provides valuable context for how your body is adapting week by week.

How to share research with your provider

WHOOP members who may want to discuss their WHOOP data, Pregnancy Insights, and the latest pregnancy research with their provider can use the overview below to guide their discussion.

Optimizing your health throughout your pregnancy

Pregnancy Insights provides the data-driven context you need to listen to your body and make informed decisions. By paying attention to your weekly trends and recommendations, you can work with your body to get the rest you need and train intelligently.

Frequently asked questions about Pregnancy Insights

Can WHOOP tell if you are pregnant?

No, WHOOP does not detect or diagnose pregnancy. The Pregnancy Insights feature is for members who are already pregnant to input their due date and receive personalized insights.

Is WHOOP helpful during pregnancy?

Yes, many members find WHOOP to be a valuable tool during pregnancy. It provides objective data on how your body is adapting through metrics like HRV and RHR. This can help you understand your body's changing needs for sleep and recovery, manage your activity levels safely, and feel more informed and in control throughout your pregnancy and postpartum period.

How long do Pregnancy Insights last postpartum?

Pregnancy Insights provides personalized insights and tracks your physiological recovery for up to 12 weeks post-delivery. This helps you monitor how your body is returning to its baseline after birth, providing valuable context during the postpartum period.

Pregnancy Insights is for wellness purposes only and not for medical use. Members should always consult with a healthcare professional for medical advice.

This feature is not available for members under the age of 18.