Pregnant women are increasingly using mobile apps as a source of supplemental information. These pregnancy-related mobile apps present women with contradictory risk recommendations without the medical research to support their claims. The content analysis describes a sample of the pregnancy-tracking mobile application environment open to pregnant mothers and uses the social amplification of risk framework. Within this framework, written recommendations and the presence or absence of corresponding citations on controversial topics in pregnancy were recorded and risk was coded as received contradictory information. Of the 48 pregnancy-tracking mobile apps downloaded, 11 (22.9%) were associated with either a seller or a developer with a medical background. Only 24 of 48 (50.0%) of the apps cited a source, such as a health professional agency or peer-reviewed research journal for health recommendations. In our results, we show a sampling of contradictory risk recommendations made by mobile apps that cite or do not cite their source for that recommendation on 8 controversial topics in pregnancy. Findings suggest providers treating pregnant women must be aware of the complex information environment and help them navigate the risk information they encounter on some of the most popular pregnancy-tracking mobile apps.

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This phenomenological study sought to determine how social support communication compares between types of support groups for women with postpartum depression (PPD). Participants were 27 women who had given birth. Participants attended one of three types of support groups: a PPD support group, a local mothers’ group, or a working moms’ group. Findings indicate that there are differences in the way social support functions between these groups; however, all participants indicated attending group support as a means of sharing with and obtaining information from similar others. For women with PPD, condition‐specific support groups were reported to be most helpful. These support groups encourage disclosure, provide contact with similar others, and pulls the condition away from the margins. Findings further indicate that, despite being beneficial for new mothers, women with PPD may receive all the benefits of social support groups only while attending condition‐specific groups.

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