An Australian charity has created the world’s first iPhone app for parents of premature babies – the Premature Baby Journal.
Developed by the founders of the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation, the Application helps parents keep track of their baby’s milestones and the many activities they need to do on a daily basis - both in the hospital and once they have returned home.
“Every year in Australia, around 21,000 infants are born prematurely and admitted to neonatal intensive and special care units – which equates to approximately 59 babies a day,” said Parool Shah, founding director of Life’s Little Treasures Foundation and mum to premature baby Luke.
“A premature birth can place an immense emotional, physical and financial toll on families, and many of them simply aren’t blessed with the practical and emotional support they need to help achieve the best health outcomes for their baby.
“With this in mind, and taking into account our own experiences as parents of premmie babies, the Premature Baby Journal was designed to help parents have an element of control over a very stressful time in their life.”
Using the Application, parents can record daily weight and feeding information, note down any questions they would like to ask their doctor and even set alarms to remind them when to express milk. The Application can also act as a journal, recording photos, visitor details and notes on how parents are feeling that day.
Recording information using both imperial and metric measurements, the Application has been designed to be globally accessible for families of premature babies worldwide.
“The Life’s Little Treasures Foundation believes that information, education and resources are key to empowering families and helping achieve the best outcomes for premature babies,” said Ms Shah.
“The feedback that we have had from families who have started using the Application has been incredibly positive and really shows that the Application is a much needed and welcome resource in the community.”
Preterm birth is the number one killer of newborns worldwide, and rates of premature births are on the rise in Australia and other Western countries.
“Thankfully by helping parents monitor their baby’s health with this Application, we’re one step closer to reducing the shocking mortality statistics,” noted Ms Shah.
The Premature Baby Journal can be downloaded from iTunes for $2.99 and will soon be available for Android phones. Proceeds from the purchase of the Application go to support the vital work of the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation.
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