M.BApp

Stress is extremely common during pregnancy and after childbirth, but people who have higher levels of stress are at higher risk of developing postpartum depression than those who have lower levels of stress. Pregnant people and new parents can learn how to manage stress through evidence-based programs. For example, the Mothers and Babies Program (MB) is an intervention for pregnant people and new parents that has been shown to significantly reduce stress for months after childbirth and to reduce rates of postpartum depression by over 50%. However, MB was created as a cognitive behvaioral therapy-based in-person program, which meant that new parents had to have access to a trained MB provider to learn stress-reduction strategies. The Mothers and Babies Program App, or M.Bapp, removes this barrier. Specifically, M.Bapp has leveraged user experience design principals to package the MB program within intuitive, engaging, interactive modules. Pregnant people and new parents can chose when and how often they want to engage with M.Bapp and receive rewards for higher engagement with M.Bapp. Just like with the in-person program, those who complete all M.Bapp modules receive a certificate.