The digital pregnancy: A qualitative study of Danish women’s use of pregnancy apps

Abstract

Based on an interview study with Danish women, this article explores how the frequent use of pregnancy mobile applications shapes the lived or experienced pregnancy. More specifically, we look at a reported dilemma between, on one hand, using the information of pregnancy apps on bodily and fetal developments to gain a sense of control over individual pregnancies and, on the other hand, an experience of the apps becoming something of a controlling factor in the lives of pregnant women. Respondents reported that the information of the apps created different kinds of concerns and that they became almost obsessed with comparing their own symptoms with the apps’ standardized information on what they could expect to experience at specific stages of the pregnancy. Our analysis draws on a socio-material perspective that acknowledges the ability of technology to enact certain kinds of experiences and shape concerns. We argue that the power of the apps (so to speak) is related, in part to the abundance of information they provide, which may contribute to a sensation of never knowing enough, but also in part to the use of apps becoming an integrated part of everyday cell phone routines.