Having a child is always a happy occasion, though new parents often suffer from a deluge of unverified myths and information about looking after their child. The lack of avenues to monitor vaccination schedules, separating myth from reality, and finding a reliable platform to monitor the health and developmental milestones of an infant can be a nerve wracking experience. Babyberry, a new app aims to help young parents keep track of their baby’s overall growth and development by providing a proactive experience, covering things such as vaccination charts, growth milestones and features such as the ability to buy expert recommended products and services. Cerebrahmn innovations, the firm behind the app was created by Bala Venkatchalam and his wife Subhashini Subramaniam. Bala says, “We used to consider ourselves very proactive parents. It was only when my three year daughter contracted chicken pox, because we had missed a vaccination, did we start thinking about a platform that will ensure that we can keep a track of our child's health. We launched in November last year and have more than a lakh downloads already.”
He adds, “The app uses a range of algorithms to provide personalised inputs about the child from age zero to six years. We used matrices tp include data from the world health organisation to provide parents information about development milestones as well. For example, the app will tell you when the child is expected to start to walk, talk and react to various things. It helps discard many age old myths people associate with infants. We always wanted a proactive channel and got in touch with doctors and a host of development experts to provide a holistic view about child development. The app now provides information from the time the baby is conceived to six years of age. Parents can monitor everything from the number of kicks by the foetus during the third trimester to the vaccination schedule of the infant and major development milestones.”
He adds, “Our recommendation engine, mBryo takes into account the baby’s age, gender, demographics, hobbies, skills and the parents’ lifestyle. Parents receive alerts on when vaccinations are due and their possible side effects.”
Bala contends, “We have many doctors from across the country who you can consult for tips and small ailments. You can be a farmer in a small village in Assam, but will be able to get a complete lowdown of your child's health by experts in metro cities. The app also helps connect parents with suppliers of baby products from diapers to toys. The new version of the app also allows parents to connect with doctors nearby.”
