Digital health trackers making pregnancy and delivery safer for mother and her newborn

Pregnancy wearables are revolutionizing the experience of pregnancy and motherhood by digitally tracking the health of mother and her unborn child.  The global wearables market is predicted to reach the value of over US$30 billion in the next five years with pregnancy app industry and wearables occupying a major market share.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “Users Will Trust Health Apps More Than Their Doctors in near future,” during an Apple event in San Francisco.

A variety of wearables and health apps are available for women, right from tracking her fertility and helping her getting pregnant until labor and beyond.

MyHealthbee is a website that have a comprehensive database of apps and products created for more than 60 health and wellness conditions, ranging from right before conception to delivery and beyond. It includes fertility tracker, pregnancy, newborn care and early child development monitors and many more.

Earlier we have learned about Ava: The First Fertility Tracking Sensor Bracelet. Once you are already pregnant, the 9 months’ adventurous journey towards motherhood begins.

Reliefband Neurowave

In the first trimester, nearly 80% of women experience morning sickness, the Reliefband Neurowave,is FDA approved, simply drug free, life-changing wearable device to treat morning sickness which is worn like a watch.

As you advance into your pregnancy, we have wearables that can play music to the unborn child. Many women speak to their babies in pregnancy and in Indian Mythology, the story of Abhimanyu is known to all of us who knew the art of fighting on battlefield because he has heard his parents talking about it when in womb.

The Bellybuds 

Around week 25 or 26, babies in the womb have been shown to respond to voices and noise. Recordings taken in the uterus reveal that noises from outside of the womb are muted by about half.

Study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reinforces that babies can hear and distinguish sounds in womb.

Currently, 5 Prenatal Sound Systems to play music in the womb are available. Lullabelly is the safe, comfortable, and convenient way to play music to your baby in the womb whether at home or on the go. It is an ultrasoft, lightweight, machine washable belt that can be worn over any apparel. It has got a large pocket to carry the music system, making it hands free and user-friendly.

It comes with audio splitter so that the mother can listen to it too.

Lullabelly 

Lullabelly speakers have volume control disc and the maximum volume reached is equal to mother and father speaking or singing loudly to the baby in womb. Shop Lullabelly Prenatal Music Belt and Bellybuds here

Sound Beginnings prenatal sound system high quality speakers keep the volume under safe limit. Other similar gadgets are Ritmo, Bellysonic and Bellybuds. Bellybuds are specialized bellyphones that gently adhere to your belly and play music.

If you have reached the third trimester than Bloomlife is a wearble that will measure and monitor your contractions and store the data in an app for iOS or Android that is easy to monitor. It is attached to the belly and electronically picks up the contractions of the uterine muscles.

Bloomlife contraction tracker 

The battery and the reusable strip last for a week. As this is something that has no longterm use, it is also available on rent for 1-3 months. The company is expecting to get FDA approval in future.

Ultra stan 

Ultra stan is finally an ultrasound scanner and let parents hear and see the baby in womb whenever they want and wherever they want. Simply link Ultra Stan to the BleepBleeps smartphone app and it can record videos and audio of baby in the womb, and take photos as he or she somersaults and kicks away.

And now would be fathers can also be able to feel their unborn baby kicking in the womb, thanks to The Fibo bracelet, developed by First Bond Wearables.

Fibo bracelet for men.

The mother is wearing a kick monitor patch, developed by another start-up.

“So, when the baby kicks or moves, it sends a signal via GSM to an elegant smart bracelet that imitates the movements. The sharing happens instantly so the person wearing the wristband will feel the movement in real-time.” Said Sandra Pétursdóttir from First Bond Wearables.

An Innovative, High Tech bangle which goes by the name Coel was recently launched successfully by Grameen Intel Social Business Ltd in  Bangladesh,Asia. The app will deliver  pregnancy wellness tips to women in remote  Asia.

 Qardiobase smartscale

Finally, there are Smart Scales and Smart Body Analyzers which measure the weight, body fat measurements and BMI and automatically transfer data to smart phone apps.

There are also wearables and apps for babies before they are born.

A study published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth reports that women value the use of modern gadgets and apps during pregnancy and urge the healthcare providers to include the information about these digital wearables and apps in planning pregnancy care.