TY  - JOUR
AU  - McAlister, Kelsey
AU  - Baez, Lara
AU  - Huberty, Jennifer
AU  - Kerppola, Marianna
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/4/8
TI  - Chatbot to Support the Mental Health Needs of Pregnant and Postpartum Women (Moment for Parents): Design and Pilot Study
JO  - JMIR Form Res
SP  - e72469
VL  - 9
KW  - perinatal support
KW  - human-centered design
KW  - digital health
KW  - maternal health
KW  - chatbot
KW  - digital tool
AB  - Background: Maternal mental health disorders are prevalent, yet many individuals do not receive adequate support due to stigma, financial constraints, and limited access to care. Digital interventions, particularly chatbots, have the potential to provide scalable, low-cost support, but few are tailored specifically to the needs of perinatal individuals. Objective: This study aimed to (1) design and develop Moment for Parents, a tailored chatbot for perinatal mental health education and support, and (2) assess usability through engagement, usage patterns, and user experience. Methods: This study used a human-centered design to develop Moment for Parents, a rules-based chatbot to support pregnant and postpartum individuals. In phase 1, ethnographic interviews (n=43) explored user needs to inform chatbot development. In phase 2, a total of 108 pregnant and postpartum individuals were recruited to participate in a pilot test and had unrestricted access to the chatbot. Engagement was tracked over 8 months to assess usage patterns and re-engagement rates. After 1 month, participants completed a usability, relevance, and satisfaction survey, providing key insights for refining the chatbot. Results: Key themes that came from the ethnographic interviews in phase 1 included the need for trusted resources, emotional support, and better mental health guidance. These insights informed chatbot content, including mood-based exercises and coping strategies. Re-engagement was high (69/108, 63.9%), meaning users who had stopped interacting for at least 1 week returned to the chatbot at least once. A large proportion (28/69, 40.6%) re-engaged 3 or more times. Overall, 28/30 (93.3%) found the chatbot relevant for them, though some noted repetitive content and limited response options. Conclusions: The Moment for Parents chatbot successfully engaged pregnant and postpartum individuals with higher-than-typical retention and re-engagement patterns. The findings underscore the importance of flexible, mood-based digital support tailored to perinatal needs. Future research should examine how intermittent chatbot use influences mental health outcomes and refine content delivery to enhance long-term engagement and effectiveness. 
SN  - 2561-326X
UR  - https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e72469
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/72469
DO  - 10.2196/72469
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/72469
ER  -