Purpose of the Review

This app review focuses on answering the following questions:

  • Is WebMD Baby of use to new parents?
  • Does it contain helpful information?
  • Is it an app you can recommend your patients?

Introduction

WebMD Health Corp. is a provider of health information services through public and private online portals, mobile platforms and health-focused publications. More than 95 million unique visitors access the WebMD Health Network each month. The WebMD Health Network includes WebMD Health, Medscape, MedicineNet, emedicineHealth, RxList, theheart.org, drugs.com, Medscape Education and has now developed a Baby app to provide information to new parents and baby caregivers.

User Interface

In order to start using the app, we are required to sign up or sign in into our existing WebMD account. WebMD Baby then asks you to enter information about your baby.

On this screen you can enter whether your are expecting or if you have already delivered as well as set your relationship to the baby (i.e. parent, caregiver, etc.)

Once we have at least one baby “added” to our app we finally meet the WebMD Baby’s main screen. Here we see four tabs dividing content into: Home, Baby 101, Journal and Settings.

The Home section shows us featured articles that are relevant to caring for a baby such as breastfeeding tips, what to expect form your baby’s first exam, and things like that.

Baby 101 is an excellent section to reference.

On it you can find answers to questions ranging from when to suspect your baby is ill and needs medical attention to parenting tips and development milestones. There is even a week by week account on what to expect from your baby and what steps to take should anything go wrong.

The Journal tab has a Baby Book feature where you can take pictures of your baby and the app will sort them up and display your baby’s development. A Notepad tool is offered to jot down quick notes on the go and you can attach images and videos to your notes.

As you can see from the previous screenshot, some of the Journal features appear locked; however, this is not a restriction made so that you have to pay for a premium version of the app or something like that.

If you look closely you can see that James’ due date is still 2 months away. These other features only unlock when your baby is born.

The Feeding button lets you keep a record of how often you are feeding your baby, if it’s either from breast or bottle, and the duration of each feeding session. You can keep track of how many hours your baby is sleeping a day using the Sleep button.

The Growth journal feature allows you to enter the different measurements your pediatrician makes and informs you how your baby is progressing. You can enter how often you are changing your baby’s diapers on the Diaper journal and this will help you keep an eye for an increase in depositions that your doctor may need to be aware of.

Finally there’s the Settings section where you can change the apps configurations.

Price

  • This app is free but requires registration

Likes

  • Very friendly user interface
  • Content is medically accurate
  • Featured information is a good way of learning new things
  • Excellent use of videos and images

Dislikes

  • Lacks game-like features

Healthcare providers that would benefit from the app

  • Residents, nurse practitioners, medical/nursing students, MD/DOs, nannys, parents

Conclusions

  • WebMD Baby does an excellent job at providing information. The different sections are filled with useful knowledge that new parents and baby caregivers need to know and is presented in a simple and effective manner.
  • The journal features can be of help for keeping track of vaccines and growth which are always a concern for new parents.
  • The app could, however, use a quiz-like approach to verifying if the information provided was apprehended by the user. This is not referring to major items such as whether a vaccine is live or attenuated, rather more practical concepts like which toys can you give to your child at a certain age or should your 3 months old baby be eating red meat.

iMedicalApps recommended?

  • Yes

Google Play Link

 

Rating:
Overall: 4.5/5 Stars
User Interface: 4/5 stars. The UI is simple and very attractive.
Multimedia Coverage: 4/5. Images, sounds and videos are a great touch.
Price: 5/5 Stars. The app is free so it’s a great deal.
Real World Applicability: 4/5 Stars. I can see physicians recommending the use of this app to new parents and them using this as reference for a long time.