How to Play Birth Bumps — The Essential Birth Card Game

How to Play

Find out how to play the classic comparison game.

Then move onto introducing your own ideas.

Finally, discover 10 more ways to play.

Getting started

Remove the blank cards for later. Shuffle the cards and deal all cards evenly to each player.

Choose a category

The starting player takes their top card and selects a category they think will have the highest score. All players reveal their score for that category.

Win the round

The highest score wins that round and selects their card next and chooses a category. If there is a tie - draw again. The winner takes all cards from both rounds.

Connect as you play

Read each card and share thoughts, preferences or questions - learn what feels right for you.

Win the game

Play until one player has all the cards, or set a time limit - the player with the most cards wins. Learn how to use your blank cards next.

And keep scrolling down for 10 more ways to play and keep learning.

Create your own cards

Use the two blank cards to turn your own ideas into part of your Birth Bumps deck:

The scores are yours to decide. Talk them through together. The aim is to explore what the technique could offer and make it part of your own toolkit for birth.

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10 More Ways to Play

Once you have played the classic Birth Bumps game, there is still more to discover.

These 10 familiar ways to play give you new reasons to return to the cards—changing how you choose, compare and talk about them. Each game can reveal different ideas, preferences and points of view, opening up further conversations between you and your birth partner.

Try whichever appeals to you, play for as long as you like, and notice what you discover along the way.

Practice Mode

Take turns selecting a card. The player conveys the card meaning by Charades rules. Who guesses correctly wins.

Best When...

Deal all the cards equally. Players get to look at their cards. Take turns challenging the others for their best card for a scenario of their choosing - for example: backache, confidence booster, driving to hospital, during examinations, building an oxytocin bubble. The player with the most winning cards wins.

Birth Journey

Deal the deck evenly between all players. Each player lays their cards to create a birth sequence from early labour to birth. Take turns to explain why you selected each card and how you would use it. You decide who wins.

Trade & Build

Deal evenly amongst the players. Pick up, then discard in turns to optimise your birth set-up. Take turns choosing a goal for the round - for example: best for comfort, best for hormone boosting, best for relaxing, best of confidence.

Guess the Card

One player selects a card from the deck. The other players ask yes/no questions in turn. The first to guess the card correctly wins.

Birth Debate

Two players contrast cards - for example: epidural v waterbirth. Each must argue the benefits, considerations and when it might help.

Ranking Challenge

Players rank their hand by effects - for example: most empowering, most evidence based, most intense, most comforting, most common, most misunderstood. Reveal and compare.

True or False

A player reads statements based on a card they select - it could be true or false. The other players have to guess correctly, then reveal the actual card. Great for myth busting.