Michaela Meade
Mums in Melbourne’s north have a new place to turn to for pregnancy and early parenthood needs.
Northern Health has launched Eve, a mobile application designed to enhance the pregnancy and parenting experience.
The app provides a wide range of evidence-based information about pregnancy, birthing and early parenthood, and will allow maternity patients to interact with the midwifery team at Northern Health.
Director of operations, women’s and children’s services Nicole Carlon said the app was birthed from the idea of improving women’s involvement in their own health, and improving the quality and timeliness of information about pregnancy, birthing, and early parenting.
“The issue became even more apparent when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and we needed another way for women to engage with us, given delayed face-to-face antenatal care,” Ms Carlon said.
“Many women use Google and commercially available apps or ask on forums when they are seeking information.
“They don’t want to bother midwives by calling for information and with almost everyone having a smartphone, this is the easiest way for them to get accurate answers.”
Ms Carlon said women will receive a text inviting them to download Eve when they book in to have their baby at Northern Health.
“This will be linked to their specific booking and their medical record and will have bank-level encryption to ensure privacy is maintained,” Ms Carlon said.
“Women will receive weekly updates about how their body and baby is growing, and have news articles that are relevant to their stage of pregnancy/parenting.
“They can also search for specific topics that they are interested in.
“Unlike other pregnancy applications, women will also be able to see their own pregnancy information by accessing their antenatal visit notes and test results within the application.”
App users can ask midwives questions, engage in a Northern Health-moderated forum, input medical data, and access a variety of tools such as a contraction monitor and baby feeding and nappy changing trackers.
