gms | German Medical Science

Background: 6.8% of women in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, did not receive care from a midwife during pregnancy, although they wished to do so. In addition, the current structuring of care for pregnant women according to maternity guidelines does not promote an understanding of the pregnant woman’s own body and sovereignty.

At the same time, digitization in the German healthcare system is advancing and will influence the future care of pregnant women. International findings on the impact of apps on pregnant women are diverse both in the quality and type of tools used and in the outcomes, so little evidence could be drawn from this.

Aim/Research question: The goal of this year-long project at the university was to develop an evidence-based and woman-centered app for companionship during pregnancy to promote understanding of one’s body and examinations during pregnancy, thereby increasing pregnant women’s sovereignty. In addition, it is believed that it can also promote the health of women and their families. The development of the app is based on hierarchical midwifery theory.

Methodology: Milestones of the project were: The implementation of the app, QM system to ensure high-quality and up-to-date evidence-based content, certification as a medical device, usability testing, compliance with data privacy and data security, and IT security. Future milestones are: Securing long-term funding, certification as a Digital Health App, and proof of benefit for pregnant women.

Results: The current status and implementation of milestones, challenges and stumbling blocks, and planned implementation of future milestones will be presented. Scientific evidence of benefit to pregnant women will also be considered, as well as potential changes to midwives’ work through digital tools in the future.

Relevance: Digitalization will comprehensively influence healthcare and its design in the future. Helping to shape digitization also offers the opportunity to help shape the meaning of midwifery work and the care of pregnant women in the future. At the same time, digitalization cannot be seen as a “panacea” and it needs to be integrated into care as one building block.

Recommendations/Conclusion: The development of the app, as well as the milestones still being targeted, demonstrate one way of transferring scientific knowledge from universities into practice.

Ethics and conflicts of interest: A vote on ethics was not necessary. The research was supported by external funding. There are no conflicts of interest.