Effectiveness of mobile applications in pregnancy care: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Background: Mobile health applications are increasingly integrated into antenatal care as supportive tools to enhance maternal knowledge, promote healthy behaviors, and improve clinical and psychosocial outcomes. Objective: This umbrella review aimed to synthesize and critically appraise evidence on the effectiveness of mobile applications in pregnancy care. Materials and Methods: A systematic search was performed using PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Web of Science, without language restrictions. Search terms included “mobile applications” and “pregnancy”. This umbrella review synthesized evidence from 21 systematic reviews and meta-analyses published up to May 17, 2025, covering 180 randomized controlled trials with sample sizes ranging from 456–10,348 participants. The methodological quality of eligible articles was assessed using AMSTAR 2. Results: Findings consistently showed that mobile applications can improve maternal knowledge, self-management, physical activity, diet, weight control, and adherence to prenatal care recommendations. Positive effects were also reported for mental health, including reductions in stress and depressive symptoms, while evidence suggested decreased cesarean section rates, neonatal intensive care admissions, and adverse maternal-fetal outcomes. Despite encouraging results, the overall evidence is constrained by methodological limitations, heterogeneous app designs, small sample sizes, short follow-up periods, and incomplete reporting, reducing the strength and generalizability of conclusions. Conclusion: Mobile health interventions demonstrate considerable potential as complementary strategies in prenatal care. Future research should focus on high-quality, large-scale, long-term trials with culturally sensitive, personalized approaches. Strong collaboration among researchers, healthcare providers, and technology developers is essential to fully harness the impact of mobile applications on maternal and neonatal health.