The involvement of women in their own care during pregnancy must be increased. The Lucy pregnancy app has been developed to provide Surinamese women with useful information about their pregnancy and the first year of their baby. The Perisur and Health foundation[e]Foundation presented this new app to Health Minister Amar Ramadhin on Thursday.
The LUCY app was downloaded by more than five hundred Surinamese women during the test phase and is now available to everyone for free in the Playstore and Appstore. This app has been developed as part of the Zorg in de hand project, which is financed by the Suriname-Netherlands twinning facility. This project aims to reduce maternal and baby mortality in Suriname.
Importance
The Lucy app is very important for Surinamese women, says Ashna Hindori-Mohangoo, project leader of the Perisur Foundation. According to her, pregnant women and mothers in Suriname often lack information about their pregnancy or the first year of their baby. This can result in serious health complications. The Lucy app increases the knowledge of pregnant women and mothers of newborns, she says.
Thanks to the Lucy app, women are well informed about the course of their pregnancy and the growth of their baby. The app sends weekly messages with information about, among other things, the development of the baby, possible alarm signals during pregnancy and how to act, reminders for prenatal or postnatal visits, information about vaccinations, hygiene and healthy nutrition. The app is unique because it has been specially developed for Surinamese women.
At the launch, the minister was given the opportunity to download the app himself on his smartphone. Ramadhin underlined the importance of this app in reducing maternal and child mortality in Suriname. As a doctor, he knows that pregnant women are always looking for information about a healthy pregnancy. He is happy that there is now a Surinamese app that focuses specifically on Surinamese women. The minister promised to further promote the Lucy pregnancy app.
Experience
One of the first users of the pregnancy app is Wandana Narain. She told the minister that she was just pregnant when the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in Suriname. Visiting the doctor was not optimal, so she started looking for information herself. She then downloaded the app and has been looking forward to the information she received from the app every week ever since.
She has now given birth to a son who is now six weeks old. She now uses the app for the information about the growth of her baby. The app contributes to the health of (pregnant) women and newborns in close collaboration with the health professional and is therefore recommended by several midwives. The app is available to anyone with an Android or Iphone smartphone.
The minister emphasized that the app should not be seen as a substitute for a medical consultation. “In case of medical complaints, pregnant women should always contact the doctor,” emphasized Ramadhin.
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