Mothers to be that were active users of a pregnancy wellness app prior to giving birth were more likely to keep to a consistent schedule of pre-natal visits, says a new study from the Wyoming Medicaid Office of Healthcare Financing.

Expectant mothers that regularly used those mobile apps also delivered fewer babies with low birth weights. The study’s purpose was to see If mobile health tools such as apps can help improve outcomes for pregnant women living in a rural area.

“Pregnancy and birth outcomes are a critical area of healthcare, yet negative outcomes like C-sections and preterm births remain widespread,” says Wyoming Medicaid chief medical officer Dr. James Bush. “Studies show that early and ongoing prenatal care can improve outcomes; however, in-person care is difficult to deliver in rural areas.”

In 2014 Wyoming Medicaid developed an Apple and Google app called “Due Date Plus” as part of a new program for Wyoming Medicaid members. The program combined smartphone-based tools and content with click-to-call access to nurse support, as well as access to other Wyoming resources and programs.

Women who downloaded the app used it to track their pregnancy milestones, use a weight gain calculator, get information on more than 50 risk factors for pregnancy complications and be referred to a free 24/7 call center staffed by nurses.

The Due Date Plus app also mapped out important pregnancy milestones and offered personalized health advice, appointment reminders and Medicaid guidelines and resources such as breastfeeding support and vaccine schedules. The new study, which appears in the medical trade journal Telemedicine and e-Health, tracked the results of 1,730 women who downloaded the app.

The results of a two-year review of data found that expectant mothers used the app about every six days. The results also show that women using the app were 76% more likely to have a six-month prenatal checkup than those who did not use the app, and app users had fewer lower birth weight babies delivered prematurely, including by Cesarian section.

The mobile apps also contained costs, as fewer women who used the app underwent expensive Cesarian section surgery and their hospital stays tended to be less expensive. “The study found that while hospitalizations for uncomplicated newborns cost $800 on average (2015 dollars) per stay, hospitalizations for preterm/low-birth weight infant stays average $20,200,” according to the journal article.

Mobile apps can be especially usefulin rural areas, according to Wyoming Medicaid. “Spanning nearly 98,000 square miles, Wyoming has a population of only 586,000, 200,000 of whom live in shortage areas with inadequate access to primary care,” according to the journal article. “Given the high proportion of low-birth weight and preterm births in Wyoming, it is critical to find novel ways to engage pregnant women in this and similar states.”

It cost the state about $55,000 to build, support and market the Due Date Plus app, says the Wyoming Medicaid Office.