JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Pregnancy, labor, and the puerperium are periods of great expectation for women and their families. Anxiety during this phase may lead to an early hospital visit before the active phase of labor.

Objective:

This study aimed to develop and validate a tele-educational mobile application for pregnant women in their last trimester and assess their anxiety levels.

Methods:

This validation study included 40 volunteers: 10 obstetric professionals, 10 technology professionals, and 20 pregnant women with a gestational age of ≥35 weeks, divided into primiparous (PG) and multiparous (MG) groups. Health professionals assessed content validity using the Content Validity Index (CVI), while technology professionals evaluated the software’s appearance through a questionnaire. Pregnant women rated usability using the System Usability Scale (SUS), and anxiety levels were measured before and after app use using the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS). The app, Rumo à Maternidade, was developed with React Native and includes three interfaces: Educational, Symptoms Record, and My Pregnancy. Descriptive statistics and a paired t-test were used for data analysis.

Results:

The final CVI scores were 0.91 for content and 0.78 for appearance. No significant difference was found in usability scores between groups (PG: 92.68 ± 0.55; MG: 90.50 ± 0.58; p = 0.53). HAS scores showed significant change after app use in PG (before = 22.89 ± 9.47, after = 15.40 ± 6.83, p = 0.001) and MG (before = 19.00 ± 9.20, after = 15.60 ± 6.22, p = 0.001).

Conclusions:

The mobile app Rumo à Maternidade, developed and validated in Portuguese in Brazil, is a well-accepted tool for health education during the third trimester of pregnancy, aiding in labor identification.