New Moms in a New Age

The COVID-19 pandemic has indeed changed many of our lives. But through the countless challenges we have all faced, it has been encouraging to see some positive outcomes. To support our socially distanced world, we have seen the explosive growth of innovative new technologies that have made our lives easier, and will continue to do so long after the pandemic is over. 

New parents have certainly been exposed to the challenge of not being able to share their ultrasound experience together. What used to be a magical moment to see their child for the first time was lost – until they discovered they could still view their images together using PocketHealth.

Raj Sharma from PocketHealth interviewed with an expecting couple who agreed to share their story to help other expecting parents better understand and navigate their own milestones.

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PocketHealth: Thank you for sharing your experience using PocketHealth during your pregnancy

A – We’re happy to tell our story!! We appreciated how PocketHealth enabled us to share our excitement together.

PocketHealth: Altogether how many ultrasound appointments did you have? 

K – I believe there were four. There was one at the 12-week mark, and 20-week mark, which had to be repeated due to the position of the baby.

A – There was also one at the beginning of the third trimester and then one again when I arrived at the hospital when I was in labour.

K – Everybody is different of course, but you generally have those three. We had the extra one at the fertility clinic and then an extra one because we passed the due date so we ended up having about six.

PocketHealth: After your imaging appointments, what challenges did you face in getting access to your records?

A – During the early stage at the fertility clinic only the patient was allowed in the room. Follow-up appointments to confirm a viable pregnancy are also private. We tried to get access to the images but I was only given a printed picture to see the embryo that would hopefully develop into a baby.

K – The exciting stage is when you see your obstetrician for the 12-week and 20-week ultrasound. Due to COVID, I wasn’t able to get that experience. But PocketHealth enabled me to see the ultrasound and get the report so that we could read it together. Instead of a single ultrasound picture, we got 20-40 images and when they did the anatomy we would get 200 images. It was amazing to be able to see so much detail, from the brain and heart to the stomach!

PocketHealth: Were you concerned when your due date passed? Did it give you comfort to know that you had all of your image records at  your fingertips?

A – It was definitely comforting to look at all of the images again to reassure us. When you get down to the final days, there is definitely peace of mind knowing that nothing is wrong and that really helped us get through it.

PocketHealth: How important do you think it is to have access to your images?

K – Extremely important! In case of an emergency, and especially during COVID, there is no question about it. PocketHealth completely made the experience for us. There’s nothing like being able to share our journey with family and friends during the stay-at-home order. Some of the pictures just blew their minds! My parents and grandparents didn’t have anything like this when they had their kids, so it was really special to share with everyone.

PocketHealth: Did you ever interact with other soon-to-be-parents’ and did you ever compare your experiences? 

A – We’ve been telling people about our experience and how much we’ve liked being able to get our digital records. Most moms only get one print-out and that’s it. We show them our records and a lot of them want PocketHealth now as well!

PocketHealth: From your experience, has PocketHealth changed the way you manage your healthcare?

K – Now we always request our images and reports through PocketHealth. The experience of seeing our baby with really clear in-depth images, and then showing them to our friends and family was unbelievable. Being in lock-down from the pandemic was tough and PocketHealth gave us the opportunity to share our amazing journey.