Researchers at Des Moines University (DMU) and The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement presented their preliminary results at the American Public Health Association Virtual Annual Meeting and Expo of a scientific research project that analyzed how the Count the Kicks mobile app impacts birth outcomes among more than 1,200 women who used it during pregnancy. The project surveyed Count the Kicks app users from 2015 to 2019 to learn about their experience using the app and differences between pregnancies in which they did not use the app compared to their most recent pregnancy using the app. App users were more likely to contact their health care provider with concerns during the third trimester, and preliminary results show a reduced rate in stillbirth for the pregnancy in which they used the app compared to earlier pregnancies. 

This is the first study that researchers know of to examine the relationship between a mobile app that tracks fetal movement and birth outcomes. It is helping Healthy Birth Day, Inc., analyze its Count the Kicks stillbirth prevention campaign to better serve expecting parents. 

Dr. Pamela A. Duffy, associate professor and vice chair of DMU’s Department of Public Health, emphasized the importance of this public health research: “This project helped us better understand the significance of monitoring fetal movement as part of stillbirth prevention. We hope this study will be an important contribution to the scientific literature on kick counting and in the reduction of health disparities associated with stillbirth.”

Duffy was joined in this research by fellow researcher Dr. Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt of The Harkin Institute at Drake University, with Des Moines University student research assistants Benjamin Williamson and Ashley Armantrout. Kerry Biondi-Morlan, co-founder of Healthy Birth Day, Inc., provided subject matter expertise to the project. The study was funded, in part, by Healthy Birth Day, Inc.

For more information on the study, please contact Dr. Duffy at pa*******@dm*.edu or 515-271-7811. For media inquiries, please contact Emily Price, Healthy Birth Day, Inc., executive director, at 515-505-0319 or pr*********@he*************.org.

Des Moines University is the only private medical school in Iowa, offering graduate-level, professional degree programs in osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, health care administration, anatomy, biomedical sciences and public health. Founded in 1898, the institution offers superior academics in a collaborative environment. DMU students’ pass rates on national examinations and board certifications are consistently higher than national averages and the rates at similar institutions.

The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement at Drake University exists to inform citizens, inspire creative cooperation, and catalyze change on issues of social justice, fairness, and opportunity. Founded on the premise that good public policy is best achieved when policymakers have access to high quality information, political processes are open and well-understood, and citizens are informed and active participants, The Harkin Institute offers programming, experiences, research, and connectivity focused on the areas that defined Senator Harkin’s career: labor and employment, people with disabilities, retirement security, and wellness and nutrition.

Healthy Birth Day, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that created the Count the Kicks campaign in Iowa in 2008.  The mobile app is the hallmark tool of the Count the Kicks public health campaign which empowers expectant parents to track their babies’ movements daily in the third trimester of pregnancy. Research shows a change in fetal movement can be the earliest and sometimes only indication that a baby is in distress in utero. More than 24,000 pregnancies end in stillbirth every year in the U.S., according to the CDC.

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The statistics back up the stories. The Iowa Department of Public Health recently finalized its 2018 vital statistics and we are thrilled to share that Iowa’s stillbirth rate has reached an all-time low. In the first decade of Count the Kicks in Iowa, our state has seen a nearly 32 percent reduction in our stillbirth rate. 

What does this mean in real numbers? In 2008 when Count the Kicks first began, Iowa lost 231 babies to stillbirth. In 2018, we lost 148 babies — a difference of 83 year to year. We are thrilled to see the progress each year and to know more families are holding their babies and will get to watch them grow.

Iowa’s progress happened while the country’s stillbirth rate has remained relatively stagnant, according to the CDC. Count the Kicks has helped bring systemic change to Iowa when it comes to stillbirth prevention, and this was illustrated just last week when three Iowa moms wrote to tell us their babies were saved thanks to our campaign.

Meet Rhett, Claire and Skyler.

“The doctors told me that I saved his life by coming in and getting checked out. I will forever be thankful that I was informed about Count the Kicks because it saved his life and made me a mom.” -Taylor B., Skyler’s Mom

With every save story and new encouraging statistic that comes in, we think of YOU. To everyone who has believed in our work, shared it with expectant parents, attended one of our events, donated to our mission, or spread our life-saving message — whether on social media or in person — we say THANK YOU. 

This change is happening because of the many people who have helped us from the beginning and those who support us today. We are beyond grateful and hope you will take as much pride in this success as we do.

Though we are thrilled with Iowa’s progress, our work is far from over as we continue to address racial disparities that persist in birth outcomes and increase our outreach to at-risk women. We were encouraged to see the stillbirth rate among African American women in our state went down a full point from 2017 to 2018. However, in 2018 the white stillbirth rate in Iowa was 3.303, while the rate for African American women was 10.320. That means Black women in our state are three times more likely to lose their baby to stillbirth than their white counterparts. 

As we look to the future of Count the Kicks, we will be identifying more ways to reach expectant moms who are most at risk of losing a baby to stillbirth as we work to reach the point where race is no longer a predictor of stillbirth.

If you are inspired by how far we have come and want us to keep moving forward, we hope you will commit to saving babies with us. If we can take the success that Iowa has seen these first 10 years and realize it with the Count the Kicks campaign on a national level, we can save 7,500 babies a year. 

To do that, we need to spread awareness about Count the Kicks and the importance of tracking fetal movement to expectant parents and providers around the country, and we need your help to keep the conversation going: 

• Tell every parent-to-be to download our free app. 
• Encourage your provider to order our educational materials. 
• Invest in our mission. 
• Share the real-life stories of heroic moms who saved their babies. 

We’re grateful for everyone’s support, education and outreach efforts over the past 10 years in Iowa and our seven partner states, and we look forward to seeing what’s possible for Count the Kicks in the U.S. and beyond over the next 10 years! 

Together we can see more babies with their families and celebrate more healthy birth days!

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