Application

A simple, inexpensive mobile application-based tracker for early detection of abnormal labor progression adjusted for maternal body mass index (BMI).

Key Benefits

• Generates electronic visualization of labor progress based on maternal BMI.
• Informed by dataset of 118k+ individual pregnant women.
• Limits premature dystocia diagnosis, unplanned cesarean delivery, and unnecessary intervention.

Market Summary

The U.S. labor and delivery market encompasses about 3.6 million births annually, with cesarean deliveries (C-sections) occurring in roughly a third of deliveries. 20-30% of these C-sections are unplanned, representing a major clinical and cost driver for hospitals and payers. 30% of pregnancies involve pre-pregnancy obesity, creating a sizable subgroup whose labor may deviate from average patterns. Accurate, individualized labor assessment—accounting for maternal factors like BMI—is needed to distinguish normal from abnormal childbirth and avoid unnecessary intervention.

Technical Summary

Dystocia (slow, abnormal progression of labor) is diagnosed by biomarkers such as cervical dilation rate and is the most common indication for pursuing cesarean delivery. Although unplanned C-section can be necessary for some women, it is also associated with surgical complications, longer recovery, more pain, future pregnancy risks, and fetal health risks. Cervical dilation is normally slower in pregnant obese women (~30% of women, with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2)—who face 5x greater risk for cesarean delivery and are even more likely to experience complications after. Since current labor tracking tools use one-size-fits-all approaches for women of all sizes, obese women undergoing normal labor may be prematurely diagnosed with dystocia—increasing the frequency of cesarean delivery, secondary interventions (such as oxytocin administration), and all associated complications. These interventions may increase the risk to the mother and fetus, particularly for obese women, who are more likely to experience morbidity and mortality after a cesarean delivery. To address this, Emory researchers designed a technology that generates an individualized, physiology-based partograph for assessing labor progression in women (≥ 37 weeks of gestation) with spontaneous labor onset —aimed to reduce dystocia diagnoses to only the slowest 10% of births, reducing unnecessary intervention and complication.

Publication Neal, J. L., & Lowe, N. K. (2012). Physiologic partograph to improve birth safety and outcomes among low-risk, nulliparous women with spontaneous labor onset. Medical hypotheses, 78(2), 319-326.