Digital health technologies enabling the transition from pregnancy to early parenthood: A scoping review.

Abstract

Background: Pregnant women and their families, especially those navigating chronic illness or challenging life situations, often seek information and counseling. The pregnancy period and the transition to parenthood can exacerbate these circumstances, leaving families particularly vulnerable. Addressing stressful situations becomes a hurdle in this context. Digital health technologies (DHTs), encompassing mobile apps, wearable devices and online platforms, present a valuable avenue for pregnant women and their families to access health information, educational parenting resources and personalized recommendations. The aim is to analyze the current research of digital health interventions designed to support parents throughout the transition from pregnancy to parenthood.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review and analyzed MEDLINE via PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, ScienceDirect and PsycINFO. Relevant German and English articles from 2004 to 2023 referring to DHTs to improve the time before and after birth were included.

Results: In 78 articles, pregnant women and parents utilized various DHTs such as mobile applications, multi-functional digital platforms, social media, videos and health websites during the transition from pregnancy to parenthood. Mobile apps and multi-component digital interventions were most frequently used in these studies. A large proportion of the studies employed experimental designs such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental methods. DHTs empower healthcare professionals to enhance parental health education for expecting and new parents in areas such as breastfeeding, preterm birth risks and mental health. DHTs provide accessible support, instruction, counseling and health services, including care for premature infants and guidance on baby-care practices. These DHTs also enable innovative monitoring of pregnancy progress, women's health, breastfeeding and mental wellbeing, thereby revolutionizing healthcare support for pregnant individuals and young families.

Conclusion: DHTs allow pregnant women and their families to access health information, participate in parenting training, and receive personalized recommendations. This can contribute to increased self-care and a sense of control over the pregnancy journey. There is also a need for research to understand the effectiveness and feasibility of implementing and evaluation existing digital health interventions.