Healthy You Healthy Baby website & phone App

Posted on: Thu 14 June 2012

Edith Cowan University (ECU) and Ngala have teamed up with WA mothers to fight the obesity epidemic and provide parents with practical solutions to raising a healthy baby and family, via a new phone App and website information.   

With statistics showing that 30 per cent of Australian mothers become overweight or obese during their first pregnancy and one in five children between the ages of 2 and 3 years are overweight or obese ECU and Ngala have created a helpful, hands-on solution to combat this unhealthy way of life.   

“Healthy you, Healthy Baby” is a new, free smartphone App that will allow parents to assess their individual needs with easy access to relevant information to train the whole family into living healthy.  

Ngala CEO Ashley Reid said the App was designed to help new mothers to achieve healthy lifestyles, not only for themselves but as role models for their new arrivals also.  “It is essential that mothers eat well throughout their pregnancy to ensure their newborns are healthy when they arrive,” Mr Reid said.  “The Healthy You, Healthy Baby application is a great source of information for mothers to keep them on track with a lifestyle that is beneficial for themselves and their families.”   

ECU’s Starting Childhood Obesity Prevention Earlier (SCOPE) Project is the driving force behind research to identify the most effective ways to provide healthy information to parents throughout Perth and the rural WA communities.  By operating a collaborative project with child health professionals, community agencies and pre and post natal women, SCOPE’s research helped to create the app that is specific to the needs of the user.   

Parents can register to use the App on iphones or android and will receive information tailored to their specific needs depending on what antenatal or postnatal stage they are in.  Women will also be able to track their weight on a weekly basis throughout pregnancy and receive advice on how to maintain a healthy weight gain.   

ECU Child Health Promotion Senior Researcher Lydia Hearn said Australian parents looked to the internet as the primary source of health information and this research had indicated the need for a healthy lifestyle website and smart phone App for antenatal and postnatal mothers, fathers and healthcare providers.  

“Research indicates that prevention of overweight and obesity needs to begin before or during pregnancy and to continue during the early years of child development,” Dr Hearn said.  "The new resources will help parents, especially pre and postnatal women to develop healthy lifestyles for themselves and their children.”

With support from Healthway and the Department of Health WA, the website and application have been designed to be used by health professionals, fathers and antenatal and postnatal women to inform them of the benefits of and steps to a healthy lifestyle for both mother and child.

The application was launched on Monday, June 11 at Ngala Kensington.  

See the website and App at www.ngala.com.au/hyhb 

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