To help parents through pregnancy to baby's first six months
Hounslow Council has joined forces with Hounslow CCG [Clinical Commissioning Group], in launching a mobile app that will guide parents and health professionals through pregnancy, birth and the initial first six months of a baby’s life.
The FREE app, called ‘Baby Buddy’, has been created with input from mums, midwives and doctors and developed by the Best Beginnings Charity as a tool to provide information that’s reliable, accurate and available 24-hours a day.
To mark the launch and to see the app in action, representatives from the council and the CCG will be at the Alf King Children Centre, 7 Hanworth Road, Feltham TW13 5AF on Wednesday 21 February, from 9.30-11.30am
Councillor Kamaljit Kaur, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Health Services and Public Health, Hounslow Council said: “Pregnant women and new mums often find it hard to talk about the issues they’re facing or trying to get advice at the exact time that they want it.
“This app has proved to be invaluable in offering guidance and support and enabling people to have their questions answered between midwife or health visitor appointments.
"It doesn’t replace the role of our health professionals, but enables women to find additional support within their local area.”
Baby Buddy will support parents in a low-cost effective way, providing information on local services and much more. Among other benefits, the app can send parents reminders about immunisations, appointments and sign post to local support services such as breastfeeding. Unlike many free pregnancy apps, which require payment after a few weeks or months, Baby Buddy is free of charge throughout.
Council staff across midwifery, health visiting and children centres have been trained to encourage parents to download the app. The app has lots of video content, making it accessible to those who don’t have English as a first language as well as young parents. Baby Buddy also uses language that most people will be familiar with as well as providing a comprehensive glossary that explains any complex words and phrases.
The app has been developed by the national charity Best Beginnings and is endorsed by organisations including the Department of Health and the Royal College of Midwives.
The Baby Buddy can be downloaded for FREE on Google Play and in the App Store, and there is also a web version of Baby Buddy.
More information is available at www.bestbeginnings.org.uk/baby-buddy
February 2, 2018