Pregnancy and artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence together with new technologies have the potential to influence many processes and stages of life, even before birth. Pregnancy can benefit from them. Technological developments can have many ways in which they impact a woman’s pregnancy, such as: early diagnosis and monitoring of possible diseases or complications through algorithms to analyze medical data, tests and results; continuous monitoring through applications or software; predicting premature birth and anticipating risks and complications; emotional support and education; personalized counseling, among other functions.

Mayo Clinic professionals have conducted research in which they have discovered algorithms that predict whether a delivery will be successful and whether it will have positive outcomes for both mother and baby. This breakthrough is very significant for the patient and for health care professionals to evaluate their decisions during the delivery procedure. The researchers used the Eunice Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Consortium on Safe Labor database. From there they developed a predictive model, examining clinical and obstetric factors to generate an accurate model. Bijan Borah, Ph.D., argues that the intelligence algorithm’s ability to predict individual risks during labor reduces adverse outcomes and healthcare costs. Artificial intelligence also helps to reduce maternal and infant morbidity rates, where mobile apps or software can detect risk factors for the baby or mother.

At the University of Seville, experts are researching on supporting the psychological health of pregnant women to give them more security and well-being through Affective Computing – this is a branch of AI which is based on systems that are able to detect and interpret emotions.

Although we can already see the baby of a few months in a 4D model through technology and have a perfect image of its face and its development inside the woman’s body, there are many fields of pregnancy that remain to be covered with Artificial Intelligence. The tools we currently have, help to monitor the baby and the mother, ensuring a sense of relief and constant attention in the process of gestation. There is no doubt that in a few years these technologies will be installed in this process, making it routine and providing instant solutions.