Parental knowledge of prematurity information is important for the maternal-infant treatment decisions which must be made during the baby born. In high-risk pregnancies, critical decisions may need to be made by the parents. A decision might be difficult such as the timing and mode of delivery, whether or not to resuscitate the newborn if delivered in the periviable (22 - 24 weeks) period, and whether neonatal intensive care treatment should be stopped if significant complications arise. In this case, the prenatal care should provide anticipatory guidance to prepare parents for upcoming decisions. But parents are not ready mentally and physically to receive a prematurity-associated information which are necessary for informed medical care decision-making. Here, we approach a smartphone-based educational program that provides anticipatory guidance to parents with prematurity-associated risk factors provides the opportunity to improve on current prematurity care and parental decision-making. In this case, parents who are informed by their obstetric healthcare provider of increased risk of preterm birth will utilize smartphone-based prematurity education over the course of their pregnancy and that the presentation of detailed prematurity information will educate and prepare parents without adding undue anxiety. This is a NIH funded (Phase-1 and II) project.

Journal Submitted

Two manuscripts based on "Feasibility study of smartphone-based prenatal education for expectant parents with risk factors for preterm birth", are submitted to the top level Journal.