Expectant mothers now have a mobile health application at their fingertips to guide them through pregnancy, childbirth and the baby’s first three months, officials at the Mayo Clinic announced Monday. 

 

The Mayo Clinic on Pregnancy mHealth app leverages the medical expertise of Mayo's pregnancy experts in obstetrics and gynecology, genetics, nutrition, midwifery and lactation. The app, officials say, gives mothers-to-be access to information relating to medication and immunization insight, prenatal care advice, proper post partum care, infant care, what to expect in labor and biological changes occurring throughout the pregnancy. 

 

[See also: mHealth app market poised for big growth.]

 

"Getting pregnant and becoming a parent are among the most significant experiences in a person's life and can be overwhelming," said Roger Harms, MD, obstetrician and gynecologist at Mayo Clinic and senior medical director for operations in the Global Business Solutions division, in a news release. "It’s multi-leveled experience where you find out not only the basic science of what’s going on but the application of that science to your care and how you can best utilize that care during the course of the pregnancy," said Harms when describing the app.

 

Harms explained further that a mother-to-be can enter her due date or last menstrual period into the app, which will then generate an instant calculation of how far along she is in the pregnancy, and a message that’s appropriate for that gestational age will immediately pop up.

 

Mayo Clinic is no newcomer to mHealth app development. Early last year, officials created an app for patients to track appointments online, access and navigate a virtual map of Mayo Clinic locations and view specific health information. In October, clinic mental health professionals launched another mHealth app aimed at the some 30 percent of the U.S. population suffering from anxiety disorders.