Contraction timer & labor tracker
Am I in labor? Waves reads your contractions back to you.
Tap once when a contraction starts, tap again when it stops. Waves does the rest — duration, the interval since the last one, your rolling hourly averages, and a plain-English read on which stage of labor the pattern looks like.
Free · No account · Works offline · Nothing leaves your phone
When you are in it, one tap is all you have
Most contraction timers hand you a table of numbers and leave you to work out what it means at 3am. Waves is built for the state you are actually in when you need it.
Tap when it starts
One big target, big enough to hit without looking at the screen. No menus, no forms, no setup while you are breathing through a contraction.
Tap when it stops
Waves records the duration and the interval since the last one, and keeps a rolling hourly average. Forgot to stop it? Auto-stop ends it for you.
Read what it means
Instead of a table of numbers, Waves tells you in plain language which stage the pattern looks like — practice, early labor, active labor, or time to go.
Know which stage you are in
A stage reading, not a spreadsheet
Waves watches the shape of the whole log — how long each one lasts, how far apart they are, whether that is holding steady — and describes where you are: practice contractions, early labor, active labor, or time to go. It also estimates when the current pattern began, which is the first thing your midwife will ask when you call.
Waves is a timing and organizing tool, not a medical device. It does not diagnose labor and is not a substitute for advice from your doctor or midwife. Every pregnancy is different — always follow your provider’s guidance, and call them if anything feels wrong, even before Waves says anything.
Everything Waves does
Labor stage, in plain English
Practice contractions, early labor, active labor, or time to go — a read on the whole pattern, not just the last contraction.
5-1-1 rule detection
Five minutes apart, lasting one minute, holding for one hour. Waves highlights it the moment your log matches.
Braxton Hicks or the real thing
Short and irregular usually means practice. Rather than making you label each one, Waves reads the pattern and tells you which it looks like.
Pattern insights
The last six hours broken into hourly windows, so you can see whether things are picking up, holding steady, or easing off.
Lock screen controls
Start and stop without unlocking your phone. A Live Activity puts the timer and an End button right on your lock screen.
History you can fix
Edit a time, add a contraction you missed, delete a mistake. Optional intensity slider to rate each one as it happens.
Paced breathing guide
An optional animation to breathe along with, for whoever wants one. Off by default; nothing blinks at you unless you ask.
Works completely offline
No network requests, ever. Airplane mode, hospital basement, dead signal — Waves does not care.
Private because there is nowhere for it to go
Waves has no accounts, no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising SDKs and no servers. It makes no network requests at all. Your contractions are saved in your phone’s own app storage and stay there — we cannot see them, and we could not recover them if we wanted to.
Read the privacy policy →Free, and not the kind of free with a catch
No ads, no sign-up, no subscription, no feature held back for a paid tier. If Waves helped you through a long night, there is an optional tip jar in Settings — entirely up to you, and it unlocks nothing, because there is nothing locked.
Get help with the app →Questions people ask
What is the 5-1-1 rule?
Contractions about five minutes apart, each lasting about one minute, holding that pattern for one hour. It is a widely used sign that labor is established. Waves highlights it as soon as your log matches, but always follow whatever guidance your own provider gave you.
How do I tell Braxton Hicks from real contractions?
Braxton Hicks tend to be short, irregular, and they ease off when you change position. Real labor contractions get longer, stronger and closer together over time. Waves looks at the whole pattern rather than any single contraction and tells you which one it currently looks like.
Does Waves diagnose labor?
No. Waves summarizes what you have logged in plain language. It is a timing and organizing tool, not a medical device, and it is not a substitute for your doctor or midwife. Call them if anything feels wrong, even if Waves has not said anything.
Is Waves free?
Yes, entirely. No ads, no account, no subscription, no locked features. There is an optional tip jar in Settings if the app helped you, and every feature works without it.
Is my data private?
Nothing is collected or uploaded. There are no accounts, no analytics, no advertising SDKs and no servers — your contractions are stored only on your own device.
Can my partner time the contractions on their phone?
Yes, and a lot of people do. Waves is built for that too: big targets, high contrast, calm colors, and no reading required to use it.
What if I forget to stop a contraction?
Auto-stop ends it for you after a limit you choose in Settings, from one to fifteen minutes, three by default. You can also open History afterwards and correct the time, duration or intensity.
Download Waves
Have it on your phone before you need it
Nobody wants to install a timer at 3am with a contraction starting. Waves takes one tap to learn and works the first time you open it.
Free on iPhone. No ads, no account, no subscription.