Want to listen to your baby, make sure all’s well in your womb, find a baby name you and your partner can both agree on, or make a time-lapse pregnancy video with the least amount of effort possible? There’s an app for that. Here are 4 of the most interesting tech products that solve pregnant lady problems.
AirStrip Sense4Baby
Anyone who’s been through non-stress tests during pregnancy can tell you that despite the “it’s chill!” name, they’re a total drag. During the last month or two of a high-risk pregnancy, women have to come in for appointments once or twice a week, have goop smeared on their bellies, and lie on a table for up to an hour while technicians make sure all’s well with the pregnancy.
Yes, yes, of course it’s ultimately worth it for the health of your baby, but it all adds up to a lot of time off work, as well as travel, particularly for women who don’t live close to their doctor or hospital. And don’t even get me started on the logistical contortions needed when the pregnant woman has other children.
But soon, things could be different. The AirStrip Sense4Baby system is a wireless maternal/fetal monitoring system that allows pregnant patients to give themselves their own non-stress tests from home, or anywhere with an internet connection, while clinicians receive and read the tests from the office.
Alex Burringo, Study Coordinator at a Sense4Baby trial at the University of Utah’s School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, explains that patients are issued a fetal heart rate monitor (that’s the white one you see in the picture on the patient’s belly), and a contraction monitor. The patients get training in putting the monitors on, and then during a test, a nurse watches from her end on a tablet, giving suggestions if the patient needs help (drinking a cold drink or playing loud music can make a baby wake up and move, says Burringo). Results are recorded digitally instead of a printout.
You won’t see the Sense4Baby at your OB-gyn’s office just yet, and the University of Utah study isn’t yet complete. But results so far are encouraging — of the 30 patients who did weekly Sense4Baby self-given non-stress tests, 95.5 percent of patients were happy with the process, says Burringo — and one patient even did her non-stress test on vacation.
Bellabeat Shell
You can buy a fetal doppler online for as little as $35 if you want to listen to your baby’s heartbeat. But with questions remaining as to their safety, it’s recommended you use a fetal doppler under physician supervision only.
The Bellabeat Shell promises to make your phone your heartbeat-listening device instead. You install the Shell app, place your phone on your belly, and the app uses your phone’s built-in microphone and its algorithm to play you the sound of your baby’s heartbeat. You can also buy the Shell add-on, a little gadget that fits on the bottom of your phone, to get better sound.
No word yet on what the Shell costs or when it’ll be released — and if you try searching for more information, you’ll see a spate of 2015 stories when apparently Bellabeat planned to introduce the Shell as a round wooden sensor that connects to your phone — but you can sign up for updates on Bellabeat.com, and Bellabeat has a FAQ up that answered many of the questions you probably have, like “How do you know where to put the phone?”
Babyname App
Ready for something a little less futuristic that you can actually have right now? There are a lot of baby naming apps out there, but Babyname scores by turning a process that can be fight-y for couples into a Tinder-inspired game.
Here’s how it works: You and your partner both download the app. If you know your baby’s gender and want to specify it, you do so. Then names are presented to you. If you like them, you swipe right. If it’s a no, left. When you and your partner both swipe right on a name, they’re added to a list of favorites you can peruse anytime.
Babyname is free for Android and iOS, with in-app purchases (more name lists).
NineMonths
You’ve seen (and maybe cried over) those beautiful videos in which a burgeoning mama takes a photo of her belly every day and winds up holding a baby by the end. But do you have the discipline (and memory power!) to remember to take those pictures every day and then figure out how to string them together into a video when you have a newborn to care for?
The NineMonths app makes it easy, giving you gridlines to align your body so that it’ll give the same perspective in each shot. When you’ve given birth, all you do to make a time-lapse video of your pregnancy is just press “Play.”
Every child likes to see photos of themselves in Mommy’s belly; a gorgeous time-lapse is an heirloom you can keep and enjoy forever.
NineMonths is $2.99 for iOS only.
Want to see more futuristic gadgets? Here are 17 products for babies of the future.
1. By day, Boon's Glo looks like an ordinary groovy modern light fixture; by night, it looks like -- well, an ordinary groovy modern light fixture, but one with a secret: each of its illuminated Glo balls can be removed and safely played with. Toss it around the house, put it under your pillow; each ball glows for up to 30 minutes before it needs charging on its tentacle-station. You can change the color the Glo emits with a simple sliding lever, or keep it changing from color to color; $85.
2. Don't call the 4Moms mamaRoo a baby swing -- this innovative little chair does way more than just swing back and forth. Designed to mimic the way parents move with their babies, the mamaRoo bounces, sways, hops, and dips. Best of all, instead of the horrible, cheap electronic lullabies to be found on most baby products, the mamaRoo allows parents to plug in their phone or MP3 player -- let 'em move to St. Vincent or the Clash, and control your baby's movements on your iOS or Android device; $200-$400.
3. How to enjoy your breastfed baby and a ribald social life too? Breastfeeding moms of the past were told to abstain from alcohol altogether; these days, experts advise moms to wait a couple of hours after having a drink to nurse, though the rate at which various people metabolize alcohol varies wildly. Want more certainty? Express a few drops of milk onto UpSpring's Milkscreen test strips to reveal the presence of alcohol (or announce its absence!) in just 2 minutes; $10 for a 5-pack.
4. A car seat, a stroller -- who really wants both when you could have the Doona, the kooky, crazy car seat that turns into a stroller. Just pop out the integrated wheels, pull up the handle and roll it away; $500.
5. Having a sick baby is a real drag, particularly those moments when you have to wake up your fitfully sleeping sick baby to use a rectal thermometer -- parental nightmares are made of this! But the TempTraq's wearable thermometer can put a stop to all that. Adhere a bluetooth-enabled flexible patch to your baby and you can monitor his temperature from your smart device and receive alerts if it goes above a maximum you define -- instead of sitting up nights, you rest! Track medicine and send your child's medical history to the doctor, too; $25.
6. Harness the magical power of the sun's rays to keep your baby safe from germs with the UviCube, the sterilizing appliance that uses high-intensity UV light. What'll it sterilize? Whatever you need: because the light doesn't damage electronics (like boiling water or steam) or melt plastics (like microwaves), not only can you dump in bottles and pacis, you can sterilize your filthy, filthy phone, your drooled-on iPad, your chew toy of a TV remote control and just about anything else; $260.
7. When your kids are afraid of the dark, putting them to sleep with a night light is fine. But if they wake up in the middle of the night, it's dark again! LOU, the smart night light from Netherlands maker Zazu Kids, not only turns itself off after bedtime, it "hears" your child crying in the night and switches back on to show him everything's fine, no monsters here; $40.
8. Been shopping for a crib mattress yet? Get ready to read a whole bunch of scary things about traditional mattresses and the horrible chemicals they off-gas. They want me to put my little delicate baby on that thing to SLEEP? Innovative Newton Crib Mattress is free of foam, latex, springs, and glue, though it feels super-soft. And GET THIS: If it gets dirty, you can toss it right in the washing machine!!! What's the secret? Peek under the quilted fabric exterior and you'll find what looks like Cup O' Noodles -- thin strips of food-grade polymer formed into a squishy, soft mat called Wovenaire by the company. Ahh, cushy. And safe! $300
9. Baby monitors are getting smarter, faster, and more innovative all the time. Case in point: the Mimo Smart Baby Monitor, which takes the form of a soft baby snapsuit with a docking station for a transmitter shaped like a turtle. Once it's on, parents get a live feed of their baby's position, breathing pattern, and skin temperature on their smart phone, allowing them to check in on their baby from work, during evenings out, or just from the next room; $200.
10. Why listen to music alone when you can invite your baby to join you? The inventor of Bellybuds designed pregnancy headphones for his wife to use with their first child: little adhesive speakers stick onto your belly while a splitter lets mom listen to the same music that she plays from her smart phone, tablet, or MP3 player. Research shows that babies respond after birth to music they heard in the womb -- get going on an early bedtime routine by playing favorite lullabies, or help your baby develop an indie habit; $40-$50.
11. Worried your baby is gaining weight too slowly or too quickly? Put your fears to rest with the Withings Wireless Smart Kid Scale, which connects with your smart device to automatically track your baby's growth and size. Share information with your physician with the press of a button; $180.
12. Old-school moms used to keep track of when their baby slept, nursed, and pooped by noting times on a piece of paper. The new generation of parent prefers the Itzbeen Pocket Nanny, an inexpensive electronic organizer that notes when baby slept, was fed, or was changed, and alerts parents it's time for a feeding. Why not just use your smart phone? Did you want to lose your smart phone at the bottom of a pile of dirty diapers? $25
13. On average, 38 kids die each year from being trapped in hot cars, estimates KidsandCars.org, most of these tragedies caused by parents forgetting about sleeping rear-facing infants. Evenflo Advanced Embrace DLX with SensorSafe keeps its users from becoming statistics by sounding alarms when a car's ignition is turned off to let parents know there's still a baby in the seat, as well as emitting an alarm if the chest clip is unfastened during a ride. The Advanced Embrace DLX is sold exclusively at Walmart; $150.
14. You're already dragging a smart phone around the house with you wherever you go. So why would you want a baby monitor with a separate parent unit? Is your other pocket lonely or something? The Evoz Smart Baby Monitor hooks up with your smart device, allowing you to keep an eye on your baby from work, from the basement, even on international trips; $200.
15. For optimal sleep, your baby's room shouldn't be too hot or too cold. How can you tell? The Gro Company's Gro-Egg will let you know your baby's room temperature with a quick hallway glance, glowing in a range of cool-to-hot shades depending on the ambient temperature. It also doubles as a night light; $35.
16. Most parents would like to let their kids play alone outside, even wander the neighborhood, but fears of predators or them getting lost tend to squelch those plans. The Amber Alert GPS Smart Locator goes in a pocket, backpack, or necklace, checks on your child's location every five minutes, and sends an alert to parents' phones if the child strays from a pre-determined space, or enters a particular area -- say, if she arrives at school. You can even see a map of where your child wandered while she was out alone, and find her wherever she is; $125 plus $15-$18 monthly.
17. The Sleep Number bed for adults has been around a long time, no gee whiz there. But the SleepIQ Kids Smart Bed has a few new tricks: The mattress head tilts up for reading or stuffy noses, and a sensor tracks when kids get out of bed -- an under-the-bed light comes on for easier dark-bedroom navigation, and parents can download an app to be alerted of unexpected risings. That app also contains a Monster Detector (pictured) for the nighttime elimination of bugaboos -- run it before bedtime, your nervous little ones are reassured.
More fascinating technology
* 5 smart low-cost cell phone plans for families
* This monitor knows your baby’s sleep better than you do
* Track your baby: 6 devices that make it easy
* 5 great “dumb” phones to get for your back-to-school kids
