Internet of Things in Pregnancy Care Coordination and Management: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) has positioned itself globally as a dominant force in the technology sector. IoT, a technology based on interconnected devices, has found applications in various research areas, including healthcare. Embedded devices and wearable technologies powered by IoT have been shown to be effective in patient monitoring and management systems, with a particular focus on pregnant women. This study provides a comprehensive systematic review of the literature on IoT architectures, systems, models and devices used to monitor and manage complications during pregnancy, postpartum and neonatal care. The study identifies emerging research trends and highlights existing research challenges and gaps, offering insights to improve the well-being of pregnant women at a critical moment in their lives. The literature review and discussions presented here serve as valuable resources for stakeholders in this field and pave the way for new and effective paradigms. Additionally, we outline a future research scope discussion for the benefit of researchers and healthcare professionals.

The Potential Role of Wearable Inertial Sensors in Laboring Women with Walking Epidural Analgesia

“…There is a growing interest in the use of inertial sensor data in pregnant women [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. This interest comes from the noninvasive and discrete nature of sensors, which may be integrated into devices able to accumulate large amounts of longitudinal data, thus enabling movement analysis during pregnancy.…”