Gwen Stefani's Song Conception

Gwen Stefani says songwriting is "like having a baby".

The No Doubt rocker - who has two children with husband Gavin Rossdale - is looking forward to writing new material with the group and views the process as similar to pregnancy.

She explained to MTV news: "I think it's really super-rewarding to write music. For me, personally, it's the magic of the whole thing. It's something you don't have control over. Every time that I've ever written a song, it's always a miracle.

"The reward of that - especially if it's a hit, and you know it right away when you write it if it's going to be - there's kind of nothing like that, because you're creating something.

"It is like having a baby, in a way, because it's something that's there permanently, that you created and comes through you and I think that's what we're all aiming towards."