Smartphone-based prenatal education for parents with preterm birth risk factors

Objective: To develop an educational mobile application (app) for expectant parents diagnosed with risk factors for premature birth. Methods: Parent and medical advisory panels delineated the vision for the app. The app helps prepare for preterm birth. For pilot testing, obstetricians offered the app between 18–22 weeks gestational age to English speaking parents with risk factors for preterm birth. After 4 weeks of use, each participant completed a questionnaire. The software tracked topics accessed and duration of use. Results: For pilot testing, 31 participants were recruited and 28 completed the questionnaire. After app utilization, participants reported heightened awareness of preterm birth (93%), more discussion of pregnancy or prematurity issues with partner (86%), increased questions at clinic visits (43%), and increased anxiety (21%). Participants reported receiving more prematurity information from the app than from their healthcare providers. The 15 participants for whom tracking data was available accessed the app for an average of 8 h. Conclusion: Parents with increased risk for preterm birth may benefit from this mobile app educational program. Practice implications: If the pregnancy results in preterm birth hospitalization, parents would have built a foundation of knowledge to make informed medical care choices.