Wellness App for Pregnant Women: Pregpal

Pregnancy is a time in which women are faced with many physical and psychological challenges like stress, anxiety, nausea, sleep difficulties and excess weight gain, among others. Obesity can not only compound these issues but can increase the risk for the mother and the baby. That is why it is important to take steps to counteract these challenges.

This purpose of this project was to test the effectiveness and usability of a wellness application designed for pregnant women. This app, Pregpal, was designed to deliver a concept called guided imagery through audio files designed specifically for pregnant women. Guided imagery is a multi-sensory experience in which the user listens to an audio file that guides them through the process of relaxing and visualizing various sensations. The goal of the study was to demonstrate that the use of Pregpal’s guided imagery audio files could have positive results on pregnant women’s food cravings, sleep and relaxation, exercise, body image and the connection with their baby.

Participants of the study were recruited to listen to the guided imagery audio files found on the application at least once daily for five weeks. Results were recorded by tracking participant app usage through a cloud server and collecting pre-, post- and weekly surveys. Study staff also engaged participants in pre- and post-interviews to collect feedback about the app. At the end of the study, the file based on sleep and relaxation audio was reported to be the favorite of participants overall as well as the most played. There were statistically significant reductions in depression, anxiety and stress, as well as increased physical activity and changes in body image.