Participants wanted the platform to collect risk information normally gathered during antenatal visits. Consumers valued having time to “reflect more carefully,” while health care professionals felt digital completion could “increase assessment rates” and “reduce time spent on assessments that take up so much time in appointments.” Both groups wanted clear explanations of upcoming assessments and how responses would be used, with several participants emphasizing the importance of knowing “whether answers form the basis of any mandatory reporting,” particularly when disclosing sensitive information such as alcohol use in pregnancy.

Participants emphasized the need for reliable, current, and unambiguous guidance, particularly given conflicting online advice. Health care professionals described how “many pregnant people do not know what they can and cannot be doing” and expressed frustration that “everyone is learning things off TikTok.” Both groups wanted clear explanations of mechanisms of harm, such as “what smoking does to the placenta to cause low birth weight,” and clarity on issues such as the harms of vaping and alcohol use. One consumer highlighted the importance of this, noting that “you think that the baby is OK because they look alright, but what people often do not understand is that alcohol effects are usually on brain development rather than appearance.”

Participants wanted information tailored to gestational stage, pregnancy symptoms, and cultural context. One consumer explained that they wanted content about physical activity “matched to what part of pregnancy you are up to and the kinds of pains you could be having.” Health care professionals emphasized cultural inclusivity, noting the need to “tailor it to the girls, who they are, and where they come from,” including culturally specific cooking practices when presenting dietary information and acknowledging differing cultural expectations around physical activity during pregnancy.

Participants valued concrete, actionable guidance that could be easily incorporated into daily routines. They wanted recipes (including for special diets), meal planning ideas, strategies for increasing iron intake, and alternatives to alcohol, such as mocktail recipes. One consumer noted that “you are going to need it all when trying to make behaviour changes.” Health care professionals highlighted the value of simple solutions to common issues, such as pregnancy discomforts, explaining that “simple exercise actually makes all those pains better.”

Participants wanted clear descriptions of available support services and the ability to self-refer directly through the platform. One consumer explained that “if they want referral to Quitline or Get Healthy in Pregnancy, they should be able to just press a button.” Health care professionals felt this approach would help pregnant people choose services that suited them, noting that “not all people will want the same services.”

Participants wanted comprehensive guidance on labor, birth, and early postnatal recovery, including practical strategies and clear explanations to help them feel prepared. Health care professionals highlighted gaps in current care, noting that “we really lack anything for that period here.” Participants also wanted information on infant feeding, mental health, and addressing modifiable health risks in the long term, with 1 consumer explaining, “I think it would be great if this app is not just something we use during pregnancy, but also after pregnancy as well.”

Participants wanted access to the platform early in pregnancy, ideally at pregnancy confirmation. Health care professionals suggested that “GPs [General Practitioners] could recommend the platform when the pregnancy is confirmed so women can get in early and know what is coming up,” and consumers wanted reminders aligned with upcoming antenatal visits, such as “a week before, then again a couple of days before,” to support completion of digital assessments. Health care professionals described this functionality as a “pre-appointment checklist” that would help pregnant people arrive informed and ready to discuss their priorities.

Both groups emphasized the need for integration with electronic health records to avoid duplication and ensure information flowed directly to support care. Health care professionals wanted key data visible within their usual workflow, explaining, “I do not want to sit with another app open, it would be ideal if that is already integrated into whatever record keeping system I am using.” They also wanted the platform to identify “red flags” so that important issues were not missed. Consumers highlighted the value of having a space within the platform to record notes and questions between appointments, noting, “I would think of things that I need to ask and then the appointment would come and now I forget.”

Participants valued tracking tools as a way to support self-management and motivation. Health care professionals felt these features could help pregnant people “have that power to self-manage, and say yeah I am doing a good job.” Participants also wanted the platform to integrate with existing health applications commonly used so that information such as daily steps, workouts, or nutrition data could be captured automatically rather than being manually entered.

Participants wanted personalized profiles, such as due dates and appointment schedules, and opt-in or opt-out features so they could reduce pressure and engage only with the risk factors they felt ready to address. They also saw personalization as a way to support clearer communication and reduce misunderstandings. As 1 health care professional explained, “I might be able to translate ‘do you smoke’ and actually offend someone with the way I asked it,” highlighting how features that allow tailored wording and culturally sensitive phrasing could help avoid miscommunication.

Participants wanted information delivered through multiple formats to accommodate different learning styles and literacy levels, including videos, images, quizzes, frequently asked questions, links to reputable external websites, and concise summaries with options to “extend and read more.” Videos were seen as particularly helpful for people who “cannot read or cannot read well.”

Participants wanted unrestricted access to all information with filtering and search options for specific needs. Some emphasized the importance of anonymous access to information for sensitive topics they may not want to disclose, such as alcohol use, explaining they wanted to “read about risk factors in their own time.”

Participants wanted shareable content to help navigate conflicting advice and involve partners in behavior change. Health care professionals described situations where “their mothers are telling them to do this, and we are telling them something different,” and felt that shareable content could help bridge these gaps. Participants also wanted partners, particularly those who smoke, to have access to relevant information so they could support behavior changes and use strategies to reduce the harm of household exposure.

Participants described how time pressures and competing priorities limited preventive care discussions, with health care professionals noting they were “so busy doing all the assessments that we do not get to the actual business end of things.” A digital platform was seen as a way to ensure pregnant people still received essential information “in a safe place, on their phone, at home” when health care professionals could not cover everything in person. Health care professionals felt it could support “a multi-disciplinary, holistic care service” and fill gaps in routine care.

Participants emphasized the long period between pregnancy confirmation and the first antenatal visit, describing feeling unsupported and “going blind for the first four months.” Health care professionals highlighted missed opportunities for early intervention, explaining that “women come in at 19-20 weeks and we have missed so many opportunities for intervening...that information needs to get to women earlier.” A digital platform was viewed as a way to provide timely, evidence-based guidance, with 1 health care professional noting that women would receive “more evidence-based information from this app than googling, which is what they have to do at the moment.”

Participants valued the platform’s potential to support autonomy and self-directed behavior change. Health care professionals described it as “woman centred,” giving pregnant people “the option and choice in how they engage in their care.” Completing assessments independently was seen as empowering, with 1 health care professional noting that “there will be more drive for change when they are identifying their own needs,” and participants felt that self-initiated referrals would be more effective than health care professional-initiated ones: “if they do the referrals themselves, they are more likely to take them up and engage.”

Participants believed digital assessments could reduce stigma and support more accurate disclosure of sensitive behaviors. Health care professionals anticipated “more honest and accurate responses,” as digital completion allowed pregnant people to “think about their answer, rather than feeling on the spot and judged.” They also felt that digital formats would “allow women to be more specific,” revealing details often missed in face-to-face discussions.

Participants viewed the platform as enhancing, rather than replacing, relationships between pregnant people and health care professionals. Having information in advance was seen as helping health care professionals “review the questions before they come in and arrange the support women need,” while reducing the burden on pregnant people to “retell their story every time they come in.” Health care professionals felt that private access to information could reduce feelings of judgment and “really complement the care we provide and open up discussions,” particularly for emerging issues, such as vaping.

Findings regarding desired content confirm and extend existing research. Consistent with international and Australian studies [18,35,36], participants emphasized the value of structured digital risk assessments, describing them as opportunities for reflection and honesty, while health care professionals highlighted their potential to improve efficiency and comprehensiveness. Participants also wanted reputable, clearly articulated, personalized, and practical information that explains both the harms and benefits associated with modifiable health risks, aligning with previous research. Our findings extend this literature by identifying specific content examples valued by users, including explanations of mechanisms of harm associated with smoking, culturally specific cooking practices, and precise guidance on vaping and secondhand smoke exposure. Participants also emphasized the importance of embedding clear and accessible help and support pathways within the platform, extending previous studies on local support options [29].

These content preferences align closely with behavior change techniques identified in systematic reviews as effective for improving outcomes related to smoking, alcohol, diet, and physical activity [33,43-45], and map directly onto strategies embedded within digital health intervention taxonomies [46], indicating a strong convergence between what consumers and health care professionals consider useful and the approaches most likely to support behavior change. Together, these content areas provide specific, actionable guidance for designing digital platforms that better meet the needs of both pregnant people and health care professionals within hybrid models of preventive care.

Participants also identified functionalities that could maximize usability and integration into antenatal care. Consistent with prior studies [27,29,32,34], participants valued health tracking tools and multimedia formats for supporting self-management and engagement. Our findings extend this evidence by highlighting the importance of early linkage to a digital platform, appointment-aligned reminders, the ability to share information with family and friends, and opt-in or opt-out controls to tailor use. These preferences align with systematic reviews identifying proactive messaging, self-monitoring, feedback, and social support as mechanisms that enhance digital health engagement [27,43-45]. Health care professionals reinforced existing evidence that tailored risk summaries, counseling prompts, and integration with electronic health records are essential for efficiency [25] and further emphasized the value of receiving assessment results in advance to support the prioritization and tailoring of care and multidisciplinary coordination. These findings suggest that digital platforms have the potential to address longstanding challenges in antenatal care, including time constraints, fragmented information flow, and limited opportunities for personalized support, if they include functionalities that enable efficient preparation, more targeted conversations, and more consistent follow-up.

Participants described a persistent gap between pregnancy confirmation and antenatal care, a period marked by limited structured support and missed opportunities for early guidance [47]. Digital platforms were viewed as a practical way to provide consistent information and referral pathways during this time, reducing reliance on informal advice [48]. Participants also felt that digital assessments could support more honest disclosure of sensitive risk factors, echoing evidence that computer-based tools reduce social desirability bias and improve reporting of alcohol, smoking, and substance use [49]. Rather than replacing interpersonal care, digital tools were seen as enhancing communication and cultural responsiveness by helping pregnant people prepare for appointments and engage more confidently in discussions, consistent with research on digital resources supporting communication and self-advocacy [50]. Overall, these perspectives suggest that digital platforms may strengthen preventive antenatal care, with future testing of implementation required to explore whether these perceived benefits are realized in practice.