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Despite the popularity of maternal and infant health mobile apps, ongoing consumer engagement and sustained app use remain barriers. Few studies have examined user experiences or perceived benefits of maternal and infant health app use from consumer perspectives.

This study aims to assess users’ self-reported experiences with maternal and infant health apps, perceived benefits, and general feedback by analyzing publicly available user reviews on two popular app stores—Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

We conducted a qualitative assessment of publicly available user reviews (N=2422) sampled from 75 maternal and infant health apps designed to provide health education or decision-making support to pregnant women or parents and caregivers of infants. The reviews were coded and analyzed using a general inductive qualitative content analysis approach.

The three major themes included the following: app functionality, where users discussed app features and functions; technical aspects, where users talked about technology-based aspects of an app; and app content, where users specifically focused on the app content and the information it provides. The six minor themes included the following: patterns of use, where users highlighted the frequency and type of use; social support, where users talked about receiving social support from friends, family and community of other users; app cost, where users talked about the cost of an app within the context of being cost-effective or a potential waste of money; app …