How Can AI Benefit Mothers?

Before I found out I was pregnant with my son, aside from my suddenly heightened sense of smell, the main clue that led me to taking the pregnancy test was my Fitbit notifying me that my resting heart rate had risen from 57 to 70.

As a new mother working in the Health Tech space, I am particularly interested in how technologies can assist women on the transformational journey of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum life. Through these stages, a woman undergoes magnificent anatomical, physiological, and emotional change.

During pregnancy, a mother's blood volume increases on average by 45%, and even up to 100%. Just before labour, rising estrogen levels, activate the uterus for efficiency and brain-based (central) receptors for beta-endorphins are increased. During lactation, nipple stimulation by a suckling infant or breast pump causes a surge in oxytocin, triggering a milk ejection reflex.

And these are merely three examples of the age-old, primal sophistication of the mechanisms of motherhood. In comparison, artificial intelligence and machine learning are truly brand-new tools and many of us are familiar with how they are reshaping healthcare and the life sciences, especially in regard to the early detection and treatment of disease. The incredible value of such applications cannot be overstated; however, perhaps less overtly explored are the uses of innovative AI technologies developed to benefit contemporary mothers experiencing the tremendous changes which are amongst Nature's most ancient and crucial innovations.

Fertility Tracking

In order to get pregnant, many women find apps helpful, which use algorithms to track and predict menstrual cycle patterns. Flo, the most downloaded female health app, uses Data Science and AI to precisely predict ovulation, making it up to 54.2% more accurate than using a traditional calendar. Mira is an AI-powered kind of home fertility lab, tracking, plotting, and measuring the concentration of key fertility hormones to help a woman pinpoint her fertile window. Combining AI and wearables to track fertility, Ava (recently acquired by FemTec) is a bracelet that tracks physiological signals while you sleep and uses machine learning to extract from the collected data the most fertile days.

IVF Outcomes

For many couples who have difficulty conceiving (around 1 in 7), and for women who use a sperm donor, IVF is an expensive treatment. In the UK, the NHS offers up to 3 cycles of IVF for those who meet eligibility criteria; for those who don't, or for those who need extra rounds, each cycle can cost up to ￡5,000 or more. In the USA, a single cycle costs around $12,000, and up to $25,000 including medication, which is where AI software comes in. "IVF powered by artificial intelligence", Alife offers solutions for both clinics and patients, optimising treatment, streamlining clinic workflow, and giving patients a personalised experience.

Predicting Pregnancy and Labour Risks

Researchers have used machine learning methods to predict risk during pregnancy and make important decisions for delivery to best serve mothers and newborns. King's College London and the University of Strathclyde received in partnership last year funding for AI research to develop an app which calculates individuals' risk of pre-eclampsia during pregnancy.

Affecting 1 in 30 pregnant women, pre-eclampsia can be mild, or, for 1 in 10 with the condition, can be more serious and even life-threatening. This AI-driven technology, the panPIERS (Pre-eclampsia Integrated Estimate of Risk Score) tool, will identify those most at risk, preventing complications.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have successfully employed AI algorithms to analyse patterns of change in women during labour, thereby assessing potential outcomes of vaginal delivery.

"This is the first step to using algorithms in providing powerful guidance to physicians and midwives as they make critical decisions during the labor process."

says Abimola Famuyide, MD (OB-GYN and senior author of the study). Such algorithms could have an enormously positive effect on birth outcomes as well as on healthcare costs.

Nursing and Lactation Support

Is there an app for that? There are several. For new mothers, breastfeeding and lactation can be tricky to fathom, and for many the right type of support may either be tricky to access or require something in addition. Barcelona-based start-up LactApp is a tool that uses artificial intelligence to furnish women with evidence based and customised advice. The app solves 100,000 queries per week.

Pioneering UK app, LatchAid, uses empathic AI to provide tailored advice on lactation, infant nutrition and feeding positions. It helps parents to responding to their baby's needs and is a supportive tool for IBCLC Lactation Consultants.

Emily by Lactation Lab is a wellness companion and breastfeeding tool that likewise harnesses the power of AI to bring empathy to new mothers. Emily users can test breastmilk samples at home to be sent off and evaluated, and are even offered at-home testing for mastitis, a painful but easily treatable breast inflammation condition which mainly affects new mothers.

Smart Breast Pumps

Breast pumps are indispensable for many women, whether they pump exclusively to feed their baby or combine expressed milk with direct nursing or infant formula.

Whatever the mother's circumstances, there is an array of breast pumps to choose from. Femtech company Elvie started out with a pelvic floor training product and in more recent times has developed a "smart" breast pump. Artificial intelligence is used to track milk supply and provide real-time information about milk properties to help mothers make decisions based on, for example, milk temperature.

Mothers and Machine Learning

Maternity leave - and indeed leave taken by fathers, should the parental leave be shared between working parents - is a time consumed by childcare, but it is equally a period for reflection and learning. The Vector Institute is a Canadian not-for-profit organisation dedicated to AI research, excelling in machine and deep learning.

Earlier this year, the institute offered a 6-week course, Mothers and Machine Learning. Running from March 14, 2022 to April 20, 2022, the course's audience was mothers on maternity leave and stay-at-home caregivers with interest in acquiring skills in machine learning, the course having been designed "to facilitate their participation in the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence". The course even included a $500 childcare bursary generously funded by Google.

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These are only six areas in which artificial intelligence can benefit mothers and mothers-to-be in our current world. How might this look in years and decades to come as AI evolves? What other kinds of technologies are being used by and for mothers or women at different stages of life?

Key organisations featured in this article: Flo Health Inc. , Mira , Ava Women , FemTec Health, Inc. , Alife , LactApp , Anya , Lactation Lab , Elvie , Vector Institute , 英国伦敦大学 - 伦敦国王学院 , 英国斯特拉斯克莱德大学

Some other companies doing exciting things in femtech: Medela , Unfabled , Micrima Limited , Natural Cycles° , Syrona Health , Hertility , Vira Health , Tuune , Gaia , Jennis , and many more.