Baby2Home smartphone app significantly improves mental health for first-time mothers, study finds

First-time mothers who were randomized to receive a smartphone app called Baby2Home for the first year after giving birth reported significantly fewer symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety, as well as better overall health, compared to first-time mothers who received usual postpartum care, according to new research presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) 2026 Pregnancy Meeting™.

Baby2Home, a digital health tool, is part of an ongoing research project intended to help give new mothers and families information and confidence in caring for a newborn and staying healthy. The app provides tailored educational information and infant care trackers, as well as mental health self-management tools. The digital tool also includes access to a care manager to provide on-demand mental health and problem-solving support.

“Evidence-based digital tools like Baby2Home are opening the door to a new era of postpartum care. We can now extend high-quality support beyond hospital walls and into families’ everyday lives,” said Emily S. Miller, MD, MPH, principal investigator of the trial and Division Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island in Providence. “The mental health improvements we saw underscore just how transformational that support can be.”

Researchers from Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island/Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL, and Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, conducted a multi-site randomized controlled trial between November 2022 and July 2025 including 642 postpartum patients recruited from their respective institutions. All of the patients were first-time parents. For the first 12 months after birth, all participants received usual postpartum care, but half (321) were also provided with the Baby2Home smartphone app.

Participants reported their progress electronically at five different time intervals over the first 12 months postpartum. Compared with the control group, the researchers found that the new parents randomized to Baby2Home reported significantly fewer symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety. They also reported better overall health, as well as higher relationship satisfaction with partners and family members and greater confidence in their parenting abilities than did the controls.

“The first year after birth is a critical period for parental mental health. Baby2Home helped new parents feel more confident, more supported, and more connected,” said Miller. “That translated into better health outcomes for them and their families.”

Reference:

Baby2Home smartphone app significantly improves mental health for first-time mothers, study finds, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Meeting: 2026 Pregnancy Meeting™