On this webpage are summary findings and links to independent academic evaluations of Baby Buddy.

To see an overview of data on uptake, usage and feedback of Baby Buddy, including on how the app is disproportionately used by families who experience inequalities, please click here.

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Associations between social support, mental wellbeing, self-efficacy and technology use in first-time antenatal women: data from the BaBBLeS cohort study

(Ginja. S, Coad. J, Bailey. E, Kendall. S, Goodenough. T, Smiddy. J, Day. C, Deave. T, and Lingam. R; 2018; BMC)

• 492 first-time pregnant women from five maternity sites in England were recruited to examine how social support and technology use affected maternal mental wellbeing and self-efficacy during the antenatal period.
• Key findings showed that social support was strongly associated with better mental wellbeing and higher self-efficacy during pregnancy, and that general technology use had minimal impact on the relationship between social support and maternal outcomes.
• The study concludes that social support plays a critical role in antenatal wellbeing and self-efficacy, with technology use showing limited influence. Future studies should explore the potential of pregnancy-specific apps to enhance maternal support and wellbeing.

You can access the full report here.

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Informational support and information-seeking during transition to parenthood in Cyprus: Baby Buddy Forward

• A qualitative study of 12 focus groups and 64 participants representing different language-cultural groups, carried out by the Baby Buddy Cyprus project to gain an in-depth understanding of informational support and information-seeking practices among women in Cyprus who have transitioned into parenthood.
• Findings showed that participants felt as though there was a “void of informational support” as they self-navigated through the journey to parenthood, and although the Internet is a prevalent source of information, these women questioned the credibility of online resources as well as the guidance they received from healthcare providers themselves.

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Assessing the learning needs and digital health literacy in pregnancy in Greece: Baby Buddy Forward

• A qualitative study involving two focus groups of 13 pregnant women in Greece that were interviewed to explore women’s health literacy and the primary sources of their maternal health knowledge and information.
• The findings revealed that despite healthcare professionals discouraging their patients from finding advice and information online, almost all the women in the study used the Internet as a major source of maternal health information.
• Limited computer experience and low health literacy did not seem to impact women’s ability to use mobile health apps like Baby Buddy.
• This study highlights that it is vital for health professionals to acknowledge that the Internet and MHealth apps are a key source of information for pregnant women and should support their use of trusted websites as well as update their own digital knowledge.

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First-time mothers’ understanding and use of Baby Buddy

• This study aimed to explore when, why, and how first-time mothers use the Baby Buddy app and its perceived benefits and challenges.
• The main finding was that first-time mothers felt that they were able to access new and reliable information easily to increase their knowledge and understanding of pregnancy and post-natal topics, such as breastfeeding. This easy access to trusted information led to first time mothers’ increased confidence, which supported both family and professional communication.
• Importantly, participants still expressed a need for face-to-face support with healthcare professionals.

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Using Baby Buddy as a digital intervention targeting diet and physical activity in pregnancy

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Experiences, Attitudes, and Needs of Users of a Pregnancy and Parenting App (Baby Buddy) During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mixed Methods Study (Rhodes, A., Kheireddine, S., & Smith, A. D.; 2020. JMIR mHealth and uHealth)

A mixed methods study on the experiences, attitudes and needs of Baby Buddy app users during the Covid pandemic took place by Alexandra Rhodes et al (2020). The study consisted of a web-based survey with 436 expectant and new parents with 32 telephone interviews with the same cohort. 

• A significant proportion of parents reported increased level of anxiety on pregnancy and birth (88.5%) with 58% concerned with their emotional and mental health.
• The qualitative interviews echoed these findings with many interviewees’ feelings isolated, disregarded and overwhelmed.
• 97% of the respondents reported that the Baby Buddy was supporting them and that it is increasingly more relevant given the lack of face-to-face support from healthcare providers.

You may access the published study here.

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Self Care Project

Impact on parents using 'Just One Norfolk' website and the Baby Buddy app (Eastern AHSN commissioned University of Essex to undertake this evaluation, 2020)

An evaluation of a project using the Just One Norfolk website and the Baby Buddy app to promote self-care amongst parents found that:

• Parents using the website and Baby Buddy showed improvements in self-care (measured by the Patient Activation Measure)
• The average activation score increased by 3.8 points for parents using the website: this increase was not statistically significant
• The average self-care score increased by 5.6 points for parents using the Baby Buddy app. This increase was statistically significant (p<0.01)
• Study limitations such as a small sample size and lack of control conditions means that these findings should be interpreted with caution.

Full report here. 

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The North of England Study

Impact of parenting resources on breastfeeding, parenting confidence and relationships (Crossland et al., 2019)

An evaluation of the Best Beginnings' resources (the Baby Buddy app, Baby Express magazine and from Bump to Breastfeeding DVD) found that:

• Baby Buddy significantly improves mother to infant bonding 
• Women using the Best Beginnings resources at two of the sites reported higher rates of breastfeeding, although this was not statistically significant.
• The resources were felt to have helped increase knowledge, build confidence and support relationship-building.

Full report here.

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Smartphone applications available to pregnant women in the United Kingdom

An assessment of nutritional information (Bland et al., December 2019, Maternal and Child Nutrition) 

This review identified 29 pregnancy-related apps available to UK women and assessed nutritional information in line with national recommendations. They found that:

• Several apps conveyed inappropriate information for pregnancy
• There was a need for the integration of both evidence‐based nutritional information during app development and for increased regulatory oversight to ensure that nutritional content is accurate before it is available for widespread use
• Only two apps, one being Baby Buddy (and the other a commercial app with adverts), fulfilled all accountability criteria and contained no inaccurate information.

Full report here.

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The North of England Study

Embedding supportive parenting resources into maternity and early years care pathways: a mixed methods evaluation (Crossland et al., July 2019, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth)

An evaluation of Best Beginnings approach to embedding resources into local care pathways found that:

• Women and health professionals held positive views of the resources
• The resources were particularly seen as a beneficial aid for families
• Embedding models are necessary to successfully introduce digital resources into maternity and early years pathways

Full report here.

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The Bumps and BaBies Longitudinal Study (BaBBLeS)

A multi-site cohort study of first-time mothers to evaluate the effectiveness of the Baby Buddy app (Deave et al., 2019)

This study exploring the impact of the Baby Buddy app on parenting self-efficacy and wellbeing found that:

• No impact on parental self-efficacy using the validated tool (TOPSE)
• At 1 week, 1 month and at 3 months post-birth
• Baby Buddy users were 12% more likely to report in any breastfeeding
• And 9% more likely to report exclusive breastfeeding
• At 1 month post-birth, Baby Buddy users were 17.1% more likely to report breastfeeding and this was statistically significant
• Baby Buddy app users felt they had less social support than non-users, suggesting that the app appeals more to those most in need.

Read more here.

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Small Wonders E-Learning for Health – a case study of collaboration

Back in 2012 we launched the Small Wonders DVD and associated Change Programme in over 100 neonatal units across the UK. The programme was designed to support parents of premature and sick babies to be at the heart of their babies’ care and drive positive change towards family-centred care in neonatal units across the UK. An independent academic evaluation was undertaken to evaluate the impact of the Small Wonders Change Programme on staff knowledge and attitudes, parental knowledge and experience and preterm feeding outcomes in two neonatal units in the UK. The researchers  (Yoxall et al., 2016, Archives of Disease in Childhood) found:

• Statistically significant improvements in staff knowledge and confidence in supporting preterm breastfeeding and family-centred care
• There were several significant improvements in the information received by parents, infant feeding intentions and practices 
• Of mothers who watched the Small Wonders DVD, 78.9% rated it as either ‘very helpful’ or ‘helpful’. All fathers rated it as either ‘helpful’ or ‘very helpful’. 
• Significantly more mothers were giving their babies breast milk at six weeks post-discharge
• The proportion of babies receiving breast milk at discharge increased from 42.4% to 49.0% (p = 0.02).
• The number of days that babies were given breast milk, as a proportion of days the babies were given any milk increased from 57.2% to 62.8% (p < 0.0001). 

All the Small Wonders films are now freely available within the Baby Buddy app and on the Baby Buddy website 

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The Baby Buddy app: Tackling inequalities in breastfeeding in the UK using a cultural lens

(Perera & Papain, pending publication) An exploratory study of the uptake of Baby Buddy app and its impact on breastfeeding found that: 

• The second most searched term within the app is Breastfeeding
• 98% of pregnant and new mums said that the app is helping them feel more confident to take care of their baby
• 24.7% of Baby Buddy users are from minority ethnic groups
• Ethnicity alone was not a determinant of breastfeeding status
• First language and occupation is a stronger determinant of breastfeeding status

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An evaluation of Baby Buddy m-health intervention with a focus on the Guys and St. Thomas' Trust pilot embedding site (Canterbury Christ Church University, June 2016)

The study compared Baby Buddy user data and survey responses from the Guys and St. Thomas' site to national data gathered between 2014 and 2016 and found that:

• Women both nationally and in at the site, viewed Baby Buddy favourable in terms of it being easy-to-use, fun, interesting and with content that is easy to understand.

Midwives remain the single biggest source of information about Baby Buddy.