Big Lottery Fund Grant for mums' phone app

Best Beginnings is delighted to announce that the charity has been awarded a £866,022 grant by the Big Lottery Fund to help develop and launch a free smartphone app for new and expectant mothers.

Young mothers are more at risk of premature delivery and poor mental health. Their children are more likely to have health problems and language delay which impacts on their school readiness and ultimately their life chances.

The ‘Baby Buddy’ app is designed to reinforce positive health messages and behaviours in expectant and new young mums, which will help to improve the health and development of their babies.

The app deals with the physical, social and emotional aspects of pregnancy and parenthood. Film, gaming features and social media are designed to maximise downloads and regular use, increasing the uptake of local services, encouraging early and regular attendance at NHS appointments. Baby Buddy will be free to download from the app stores on Android and iOS.

Best Beginnings has been working closely with health professionals to ensure the content and objectives of the app meet accepted health standards and practices. The app will be promoted and piloted by midwives and health visitors across the UK and the project will be appointing an external evaluator to assess how effective the app is at changing behaviours.

This grant from the Big Lottery has the potential to make an enormous difference to the health and wellbeing of young mothers and their children across England. The highly interactive and personalised Baby Buddy app is being designed with input from young mothers and many experts to provide the next generation of young parents with the knowledge, skills and confidence to maximise their children's physical, social and emotional development.

Yet, without the support of the Big Lottery this important project simply wouldn't come to fruition. We are delighted that the Big Lottery Fund is supporting this ambitious project and also immensely proud.

Click here to read the Big Lottery Fund press release.

To find what has happened since we secured the funding for baby buddy click here.

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