Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 13: Wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers may soon play a pivotal role in pregnancy care by remotely detecting health changes and abnormalities, according to new research from Scripps Research.

Scientists have uncovered preliminary evidence showing that common wearables—such as Apple Watch, Garmin, and Fitbit—can monitor physiological signals, especially heart rate patterns, that correspond to key hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy. These insights could help track maternal health throughout pregnancy and postpartum periods.

“Wearable devices offer a unique opportunity to develop innovative solutions that address the high number of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the US,” said Giorgio Quer, co-senior author of the study and director of artificial intelligence at Scripps Research. “Our results show that signals collected via wearable sensors follow the expected changes in hormone levels and can detect unique patterns specific to live birth pregnancies.”

The study involved 108 participants who shared wearable data spanning from three months before pregnancy to six months after delivery. Using advanced statistical analysis, the researchers accounted for individual and device differences to identify population-level patterns.

One key finding was the heart rate trend: it initially dropped during early pregnancy (around weeks 5 to 9), then steadily rose, peaking up to 9.4 beats per minute higher than pre-pregnancy levels just weeks before delivery. Postpartum, heart rates dipped below baseline before stabilizing about six months later. The team also tracked changes in sleep and activity patterns.

To confirm these patterns, the researchers compared wearable data with hormone-level profiles from previous pregnancy studies, modeling heart rate fluctuations in line with changes in oestrogen, progesterone, and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)—hormones essential for healthy pregnancy progress.

While still in early stages, these findings highlight the potential for wearables to improve prenatal care, particularly for women in areas lacking easy access to maternal healthcare facilities.

This innovation could mark a major step forward in providing continuous, non-invasive pregnancy monitoring that empowers both patients and healthcare providers.