How it works

Participation in this research project means different things depending on how you are randomised. Everyone will have to complete questionnaires, but beyond that, the randomisation determines whether you receive regular care, whether you also use the Early Labour App or whether you use both the app and an activity bracelet. Those who have used the app can take part in an interview a few months after giving birth.

This study is aimed at participants who are pregnant with their first child, and within week 25-36 of the pregnancy.

Prior to labour

As a participant you will begin by answering an introductory questionnaire when you register with the project. The questionnaire contains various questions about your background, your well-being, and your feelings about the upcoming birth. The questions take about 15 minutes to answer.

You will then be randomised into one of three different groups:

1. You will receive the usual care through your midwife outpatient clinic.
2. You are using mobile application Early Labour App. Read more about the app further down the page. You will receive a code that you must use to download the app from the Appstore. The app works on both Apple and Android phones. The code only works on one phone, but if you need to change your phone during your pregnancy, you can contact us via our website, and we will arrange for a new code.
3. You use Early Labour App Plus, with the addition of extra support from a midwife by phone on two occasions before labour. The first session will take place immediately after you download the app, and the second session will take place about 2 weeks later. The midwife will then ask you how you have used the education section and can give you tips on how the app works. The call is expected to take about 20-35 minutes.

Some women will be randomised to use an activity bracelet during the latter part of their pregnancy and during labour. Participants for this part will be randomised from all three randomisation groups. The wristband will measure heart rate, sleep, and activity. The aim is to measure whether the use of the app also affects them. The data is then automatically retrieved from the wristband, and you do not have to do anything else. Those who have been randomised to wear an activity bracelet will get to keep it after the end of the study.

After labour

The data stored in the Early Labour App and activity wristband is automatically retrieved after your labour and you do not have to do anything else. Information about your labour and the well-being of your baby that is recorded in your medical records will be collected from the National Pregnancy Register, which is a quality register.

Four weeks after you have given birth, a questionnaire-based follow-up will be sent to you with questions about your labour and your experience in connection with your labour. It takes about 20 minutes to answer the questions. The questions relate to the experience in the latent phase, confidence in own ability during labour, labour experience, fear and anxiety about future births, support from partner and questions about feelings during labour, which pain management options were used and how they were experienced. Questions about the start and end of labour and self-rated health will also be asked. The questions are based on established and tested assessment instruments.

For those who have been randomised to the app, questions about the usability of the app will also be asked. This knowledge can then be used to further improve the app before it is released onto the open market.

The women randomised to the app can also be interviewed, together with their partners, about their experience of using it. Separate consent is required for this part from both you and your partner. Couple’s interviews will be conducted digitally and recorded on tape recorders.

As a thank you for answering the questionnaire, you will receive a gift voucher of SEK 200 to be used in any ICA store.

The Early Labour App is based on the method “Give Birth Without Fear” (Föda Utan Rädsla, FUR)

Early Labour App is a mobile application that is scientifically tested and designed based on the FUR method. FUR is extensively proven and used by pregnant women and women in labour, both in Sweden and internationally.

Early Labour App includes a 60-minute educational session where you and your partner can practice four different techniques to help you during labour.

The second part is a pain manager used during early labour to manage labour and remind you how to use the techniques you have practised. The pain manager contains many different parts, with a total running time of over 5 hours, but with stand-alone parts where you can focus on only the parts that feel most important to you.

Early Labour App has been developed into a ready-to-use mobile application but will not be launched until the study is completed.