New Liverpool digital venture launches app to offer support to pregnant women with real-time data tracking and access to midwives. Tony McDonough reports

A new app has been launched by Liverpool digital entrepreneur and scientist Emma Jarvis to “empower women to feel more in control of their pregnancy journey”

Dearbump, which was unveiled at the Slush’D start-up conference in Liverpool, offers real-time data tracking and integrated access to real midwives. It is tailored to a user’s pregnancy stage and educational content for women.

This will help them stay informed and empowered throughout their pregnancy journey and up to two years postpartum. It also has a live chat function with expert midwives, enabling expectant mothers to have access to expert advice at the touch of a button.

Dearbump also offers sensitive and relevant content for those navigating the complexities of pregnancy loss, ensuring that users have access to crucial support during challenging times, often overlooked by other apps.

It was founded by Emma Jarvis, a femtech entrepreneur and scientist, LinkedIn Top Voice on gender equality, and a full-stack developer who transitioned into tech after her own birth trauma.

Emma has been a vocal advocate for women’s health and recently went viral for challenging Innovate UK’s grant funding cuts for female-founded tech businesses.

“Women will be able to track their pregnancy, log their symptoms and chat to a midwife through the app,” said Emma.

“This will give us a bigger data picture of each user, which, when combined with their outcome data, means we can ultimately measure patterns, identify risk and generate insights for new users.”

Dearbump is now available for download in iOS and Android app stores. It is one of 11 tech start-ups to secure a place on Liverpool-based Baltic Ventures’ £4.1m accelerator programme. The scheme is in its second year and the latest cohort was announced at the Liverpool Slush’d conference in September.

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Dr Lauren Flynn, OBGYN, added: “Digital tools such as Dearbump not only enhance access to healthcare but also deepen women’s understanding of conditions faced during pregnancy and postpartum.

“However, McKinsey has shown us that maternal health conditions need more attention. There is a significant lack of comprehensive maternal health data, which leads to inadequate care and increased risks.

“By collecting data through the Dearbump app, we can gain more precise insights into maternal health needs, contributing to clinical research, aiding the closure of the maternal health gap, and ultimately improving health outcomes for mothers and their babies.”