Smartphones, such as Android phones and iPhones, are "a new technology combining mobile communication and computers in a handheld device" [1]. With a simple touch of its keypad, users can perform a variety of tasks, from accessing online information to staying connected to people from around the world [2]. They are making rapid changes to the delivery of healthcare [3,4,5,6]. Many people use smartphones as their primary means to access healthcare information and as useful tools for healthcare management [1,7]. Smartphone users can download numerous health applications (apps) with multiple functions, such as references or calculators [8]. These apps can help people manage their own health and wellness, promote healthy living, and gain access to information when and where they need it [9]. Given these trends, the market for healthcare apps is rapidly increasing. Indeed, more than 165,000 health apps are available in major app stores [10].

There are more pregnancy apps than any other health and fitness apps [11]. Childbearing women often seek information about their future or current pregnancies because they are inexperienced or desire to share their experiences with others; furthermore, they seek professional consultation and reassurance via instant connectivity [12]. To fulfill their needs, women use a variety of methods. In the past, expectant mothers might have obtained pregnancy-related information from others, such as midwives, doctors, friends, or relatives; however, nowadays, electronic media such as the Internet and television provide easy and convenient access to maternity information [12]. Recently, apps have become a new approach to providing maternity information that is readily accessible—literally at the touch of a button—at little or no cost and at any time and any place [11,13,14]. As a result, there is an increasing number of apps for pregnancy, birth, and child care; currently more than 1,000 such apps can be found in app stores [11].

Information and experience acquired during the childbearing period is critical for the future health of mothers and babies. Misinformation derived from apps can cause unnecessary worry or false reassurances, resulting in poor outcomes [11]. Because apps are becoming an increasingly important source of information during pregnancy, concerns about the quality of these apps are increasing. Some websites and magazines have introduced suitable apps for pregnant women [15,16,17]. Furthermore, app stores provide information such as the number of times an app has been downloaded and user reviews or scores to help people choose which apps to download. However, people often delete downloaded apps that they are dissatisfied with, and reviews are optional and subjective [18,19,20]. Moreover, app descriptions do not generally contain advice or safety information to serve as tools for medical care, and the quality of these apps is not guaranteed [21,22]. As a result, the information from apps for pregnant women cannot be considered completely safe.

The most important aspects of an app for expectant mothers are that it should fulfill their needs and be trustworthy. There is a concern that the quality of many apps in development is poor, given that many are not based on scientific knowledge of advanced care delivery [3]. Therefore, health professionals need to monitor the quality of information provided by pregnancy apps and identify women's needs during the prenatal period. However, until now, no study has been conducted to explore the quality and user opinions of pregnancy apps. Therefore, we explored the opinions of actual consumers regarding the use of apps for pregnancy, birth, and child care and reviewed the content and quality of information provided by these apps. This study could be helpful in identifying appropriate pregnancy apps and monitoring the quality of these apps. It could also provide a baseline for developing qualified apps suited to the needs of pregnant women.

The purpose of this study was to determine pregnant women's opinions of apps for pregnancy, birth, and child care and to review the characteristics, content, and credibility of these apps.

This study was a cross-sectional survey. Data were collected from three maternity hospitals in Daegu during March 2014. To be included, each participant had to (1) be a prenatal woman at least 8 weeks after confirmed pregnancy or a post-natal woman within 6 weeks of giving birth and regularly engaging in follow-up visits with an obstetrician, (2) own a smartphone, (3) understand the content of smartphone apps used, and (4) provide consent to participate in the study.

Two hundred and one women who visited the three maternity hospitals during the study period participated. Of these, 193 were included in the final analysis because 8 questionnaires were incomplete. This number was sufficient for the predetermined sample size (n = 187), which was calculated using G*power 3.17 based on an effect size of 0.18, an alpha of 0.05, and a power of 0.80.

Mobile apps for pregnancy, childbirth, and child care are some of the most common healthcare apps used by women. Because these apps have considerable potential in the health of women and infants, their content and quality should be monitored and managed by healthcare professionals. From this perspective, this study was very meaningful because it identified the usage patterns and need for apps among child-bearing women, and it clarified issues surrounding app quality. Our results could be the basis for developing appropriate apps suited to meeting the needs of women and for monitoring app quality.

Over half the smartphone users among our sample used at least one pregnancy app; furthermore, younger women with less experience with pregnancy tended to use more apps. These findings are similar to those described in a mobile analytics report showing that 47% of all users of health apps used pregnancy apps [24]. They are also similar to those found in a recent study, which showed that younger people are more familiar with app use [25]. Similar to the findings obtained by Fleming et al. [12] in a qualitative study, primiparas tend to use more apps. They often feel anxiety about pregnancy (an unknown experience to them) and could feel relieved by using smartphone apps to address their fears about giving birth. This could help them realize that fears about becoming pregnant and expecting their first child are normal. This suggests that mobile apps could be appropriate tools for young expectant mothers.

Most users decided to download apps after searching their contents themselves. Furthermore, they considered necessity and convenience to be the most important factors before downloading an app. This suggests that users will not use a smartphone app simply because it is innovative or readily available. Instead, the app must be convenient and aid them in health-related tasks [26]. Most participants stated that they used apps to obtain information. However, despite advantages such as convenience, issues related to app credibility were reported. This lack of credibility was of greatest concern to users, just as it was for health professionals in a previous study [9,27]. Although most women frequently used the apps to search for information, the credibility and content of the apps were sometimes dissatisfying. Moreover, many participants reported that apps needed to offer expert opinions and opportunities for Q&A sessions on diet and medications. This suggests that women want credible and professional information about their conditions from a health professional.

We reviewed 47 apps referred to by participants. Most had more than one function, the most common of which were information, social networking, and tools. Like Saybebe, the top-ranking medical app on the Google Play Top App chart, the apps most commonly selected by participants had multiple functions. Although healthcare apps have recently begun to evolve in various ways, such as offering remote monitoring via wearable devices, the majority of women use apps with simple functions [5]. In particular, the information function was the most common, as was found in previous studies. The study of Tripp et al. [11] showed that 40% of reviewed apps had an informative function, and it can help reduce the need to visit the hospital, relieving anxiety by educating consumers and allowing them to understand their own conditions [6]. Interestingly, the social networking function was important for pregnant women. Anxiety arising from inexperience can be relieved by sharing of experiences with those in the same situation via electronic communication. However, communication with health professionals using an app remains limited. If interactive communication with health professionals through mobile apps is enhanced, users could get more professional and useful health information quickly, thus improving their health.

Most tools included with apps were simple calculators for estimating date of birth or contraction timers; there were few advanced tools, such as those for fetal monitoring. Users must be cautioned on the use of these tools because they could lead to unnecessary worry or false reassurance [11]. Healthcare apps are developed by a variety of institutions, from individuals to healthcare organizations. In this study, the most common sources of pregnancy apps were Internet portals or commercial sites rather than healthcare organizations. It is possible that some pregnancy apps were created for entertainment and were not approved or sponsored by healthcare professionals. Similarly, the credibility of app information was lower than average. The credibility subscale with the highest score was content management, which involves providing updates and highlighting the purpose of the app (e.g., selling or information). In contrast, the information source subscale had the lowest score among the four credibility subscales. In other words, information provided about the app developers was highly credible, but the information sources for app content were not. A recent study similarly pointed out that the content and developers of an app often lacked authority [28]. Therefore, healthcare professionals should call attention to the dangers of misinformation from non-professionals and uncertain information sources. The lack of appropriate caution on the use of these apps prompts the need for further discussion regarding regulatory measures in their development. The regulation of healthcare app monitoring by healthcare professionals should be considered.

In conclusion, the number of pregnancy apps is rapidly increasing, and they are playing an ever more important role in the health of women and infants. This descriptive study explored the use of mobile apps for pregnancy, birth, and child care and reviewed the characteristics and content of those used by pregnant women. Credibility was evaluated for 47 apps used by study participants. We determined that apps have become an important information source for pregnant women. The quick provision of credible professional information is needed by users. The findings of this study indicate areas in which health professionals can concentrate when assessing app quality. The involvement of healthcare professionals is needed to develop and operate suitable apps for pregnancy, birth, and child care.