Pregnancy: There's An App For That
"Early Show" contributor and CNET Senior Editor Natali Del Conte.
/ CBSThere are many ways to incorporate technology into your pregnancy. My friend Nathalee is a Microsoft Excel super-user and admits to making spreadsheets to track her trimesters. I did the same with my baby shower gift lists and thank you cards.
I have also logged my entire pregnancy on Google Health. It is a bit controversial but I swear by it. It enables me to record test results, doctor appointments, weight gain, medications, etc. I can also share this information with my significant other and create a profile for the baby when he/she is born to track immunizations, appointments, and more.
As for mobile, here are a few of my favorite apps to help make pregnancy and parenting a little more high-tech and a lot more fun:
iPregnancy for iPhone: This app costs $4.99. It tracks your pregnancy by due date and tells you what is happening as the baby develops week-by-week. You can add information about your doctors appointments, emergency contact information, and even track baby names that are in the running.
BabyBump for Android: This app costs $2.99. It tracks your pregnancy on a weekly basis. You can input information into a daily journal with entries that include photos, weight, and stomach circumference, although I opted to pass on that information after about week 25.
RunPee: This sounds silly but I'm actually serious. I've gone to the movies a lot during my pregnancy. What else is there to do? But we all know that pregnancy means frequent trips to the bathroom. RunPee will tell you when there is a lull in the movie so you can dash to the little girl's room without missing any crucial scenes. Genius!
Contraction Timer Deluxe for iPhone: This app will come in handy on D-Day! (D meaning delivery of course.) It tracks your contractions and gives you a chart of how frequently they are coming. It also runs in the background so you don't have to keep the app open for it to be counting contractions. I would wager it is far more reliable than a nervous daddy with a stopwatch!
Contraction Timer for Android: This is a free app. It isn't pretty but it gets the job done. It tracks time of contractions, duration, and frequency.
In addition to pregnancy apps, I have begun researching apps that track infant care activity, such as poopy diapers, feeding, and sleeping schedules. The one I am planning to use is called Baby Activity Logger for iPhone, but seeing as my baby has not yet arrived, I will hold off on reviewing or recommending. Especially because I have no idea if an app will help me sleep-train my baby any better than a lullaby. Here's hoping!
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Hi,
I really enjoy reading your blog and want to share this contest with you. You know, there are so many different pregnancy apps available for Android, Apple and other mobile devices. We want to hear your ideas and your readers' suggestions!
Tell us your idea for a pregnancy app that you would love to have!
Pregnancy Apps Contest: Best Pregnancy Mobile App Idea Wins $150
http://www.mazecordblood.com/pregnancyapps-contest.php
In 200 words or less, describe your pregnancy app idea for the chance to win $150 gift certificate for Amazon.
Entries will be accepted till February 14, 2012 at 12pm EST. 18+, International
Share the joy.
Let me know what you think.
Yours,
Sara
http://itunes.com/apps/babybirthday
Babies rarely are born on their actual due date. Many factors determine when you deliver, including when you go into labor, when your water breaks, or when you might need to be delivered for some other reason to reduce the risk of complications.
Baby Birthday calculates the most likely date for the baby to be born, based on a complex formula that includes your medical and obstetrical history and even other smaller effects, like the weather and logistical factors.
It also gives an idea when to expect the baby (the next month, the next week, or the next few days, for instance).
The predictions get better every day in the third trimester. It includes a lot of information about due date calculation and why babies come when they do, as well as background information about each topic. Fun and lots of great information.
A portable, at-a-glance version of the leap calendar in The Wonder Weeks. Where the book describes in-depth and easy-to-understand terms the incredible developmental changes that all babies go through, the app is the perfect companion element to track your baby?s mental development.
It is also a handy reminder for new parents when their baby?s brain is changing, or ?leaping,? s/he is making a significant advance in mental development, and with each step forward comes a drastic change in the way your baby sees the world around him. Because these leaps come so quickly, the ?new world? and new abilities can sometimes be scary, and the development can initially manifest in poor sleep, bad appetite, crying, clinging and crankiness ? exhausting and frustrating mom and dad.
By knowing what is going on inside the head of your baby, you can help him to make the leap more easily and stimulate his development. The Wonder Weeks app helps new parents by:
? Showing when your baby makes a leap in his mental development
? What your baby can understand & learn after this mental leap
? What your baby can do after this leap
? What you can do to help your baby
The Wonder Weeks iPhone app, originally created and released in The Netherlands, was an immediate success, and was recently named one of the three best apps in iPhone and More magazine in the health & wellness category.
A portable, at-a-glance version of the leap calendar in The Wonder Weeks. Where the book describes in-depth and easy-to-understand terms the incredible developmental changes that all babies go through, the app is the perfect companion element to track your baby?s mental development.
It is also a handy reminder for new parents when their baby?s brain is changing, or ?leaping,? s/he is making a significant advance in mental development, and with each step forward comes a drastic change in the way your baby sees the world around him. Because these leaps come so quickly, the ?new world? and new abilities can sometimes be scary, and the development can initially manifest in poor sleep, bad appetite, crying, clinging and crankiness ? exhausting and frustrating mom and dad.
By knowing what is going on inside the head of your baby, you can help him to make the leap more easily and stimulate his development. The Wonder Weeks app helps new parents by:
? Showing when your baby makes a leap in his mental development
? What your baby can understand & learn after this mental leap
? What your baby can do after this leap
? What you can do to help your baby
The Wonder Weeks iPhone app, originally created and released in The Netherlands, was an immediate success, and was recently named one of the three best apps in iPhone and More magazine in the health & wellness category.
1) A large percentage of expecting mothers are arriving at the hospital to deliver a newborn and have not attended a maternity class - and most of the classes are free to attend! There are few PSAs incouraging attendance.
2) maternity nurses are sending newborns home with mothers and a "doggy bag" of information in hopes they read it. Maternity nurses get very little time to spend with mothers as most are discharged a day earlier than was past practice due to the cost of hospitals and medical insurance companies.
3) very few mothers & fathers know what "newborn eye prophylaxis" is.
Even less are even discussing it with their OBGYN prior to delivery. Avoid silver nitrate drops (may cause near sightedness & harsh) ask OBGYN to use Erythramiacin ointment or Sterile Povidone Iodine (used to sterilize eyes before eye surgery). Women delivering at home can use their initial breast lactation following delivery as it contains antibiotics. All states make newborn eye prophylaxis mandatory by law and has to be recorded on the birth record.
4) very few expecting mothers know the importance of and how amniotic fluid measurements should be taken and recorded - and what it indicated. First part of pregnancy mother produces most of fluid. Second part of pregnancy the fetus/baby produces most of the amniotic fluid. So taking these measurements throughout a pregnancy is important in helping the OBGYN promptly recognize if there is a dehydration issue and its cause.
5)Birth Record or Birth Certificate - Because of HIPPA (federal medical privacy laws) medical information has been removed from the generic bith certificate and is kept on a separate record. Unfortunately, most Vital Statistics offices fail to inform citizens and young parents that there is a medical portion to the birth record. To obtain it a parent or individual has to know that it has to be requested specifically as it can only be released to lawful guardians/parents or the individual whose birthrecord it belongs to.
Information, such as method of eye prophylaxis used is recorded, blood type, height & weight at birth, iron content at birth (anemia), the blood test for genetic marker results, and so forth.
5) Avoiding ear infections in infants and their causes is a must topic as young parents need to avoid the over use of antibiotics and tubes and other expensive procedures that ear infections lead to $$$$ for the medical profession and less $$$$ in parents pockets and higher medical premiums for everyone.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8618-504744_162-20011469.html?assetTypeId=41&messageId=9660876&tag=contentMain;contentBody#ixzz0uh7sYwyC
This application, produced by a multidisciplinary team of professionals, will explain week by week the changes that you, your baby and your family will experience during the next 9 months.
With basic, attractive, dynamic, entertaining and direct language, you get access to scientific knowledge, without the barriers placed by using medical terms, and interesting tools to enjoy this stage of your life.
Available on App Store for iphone / ipod
http://******/yourpregnancy