Service users and maternity care professionals’ perspectives of apps during pregnancy and childbirth: A narrative review

There is a strong emphasis on the need for early informational support for pregnant women to optimize the health and development of mothers and newborns. Over the last ten years, smartphones have emerged as the primary means of accessing information. Previous literature on the design, content, and application of pregnancy apps highlights that although there is a high number of apps targeting pregnancy, quality and usability are highly varied, as are the approaches and outcome measures used to evaluate their impact. Because of the inconsistencies reported, the aim of this narrative review is to synthesize and interpret existing qualitative evidence regarding the contribution of apps providing information during childbirth. Five databases, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar, were searched for peer-reviewed literature published between 2010 and 2025. Qualitative and mixed methods studies written in English reporting service users' and maternity care professionals' perceptions of the use of apps were included. Two reviewers screened and completed data extraction. Narrative data synthesis was completed using thematic analysis. Thirty-nine studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in the review, thematic analysis was conducted, and four major themes were identified: women want apps that are simple, interactive, and visually appealing, that provide trustworthy information developed collaboratively with professionals. Barriers to accessing pregnancy apps still exist, particularly for women from lower socioeconomic groups. There is a need for further research as many apps currently used by pregnant women are difficult to access, not always developed collaboratively with women, and frequently not evaluated for their outcomes and impact.