I did have some problems with the information section of this app. The info section is divided into topics. Each topic is illustrated by a photograph, and there are times that the text, (which is white) scrolls over a light section of the image, making it hard to read. The topics were both oddly arranged and chosen, and I also found myself saying “yeah…but” while reading much of the information, sometimes being confused, and sometimes disagreeing with what I was reading. The interface of this app in general was less than intuitive.

Ladies who are very invested in keeping friends and family up-to-date in their pregnancy may enjoy this app. I also like the fact that this app is pro-breast feeding.

Who am I? can be played by two people or teams and is essentially an elimination game in which one party selects a face from a panel and then hands to iPhone to the opposing party, who can ask questions about the person’s appearance, including questions relating to race. “Easy” and “Hard” options are available; “Easy” includes 12 faces, “Hard” includes 24. When the correct face is selected, the face appears on a panel with “I consider myself a particular race, such as White or Asian” and the option to tap the picture to learn more. When tapped, a balloon is launched containing a quote from the individual describing his or her understanding of their own racial makeup. A person who considers themselves white may elaborate that they have Japanese, Irish, and Italian origins.

The individual quotes get at the heart of the message that the Race Awareness Project is trying to communicate: that race is fluid and easy to misinterpret. It may seem, at first blush, a bit hokey to use a computer application to address the topic of race with your children. However, the Race Awareness Project website points out:

“Research shows that even though many parents wish their kids to grow up “colorblind,” kids as young as three-years-old are actively learning about categories of race and ethnicity that they hear in everyday language. Therefore, it is critical that parents learn to responsibly talk about these issues and not leave children on their own to learn about race from the media or from others.”

The “Who Am I”? face elimination game was very fun to play with my 6-year old niece and 4-year old son, and sparked some interesting discussion about racial and gender differences that have lasted well beyond the game.

OK, kidding aside. This app is not intended for patients but for doctors, nurses and midwives. It contains a plethora of data and tools for dealing with every manner of postnatal issue, from an Apgar Score calculator to a Weight Converter. An ebook is included with detailed overviews of the newborn exam, abnormal findings, and clinical problems. Included video and audio clips show examples as well.

If you are a doctor, nurse, or midwife, I would certainly hope you would have internalized the information contained within this app and that your hospital would have supplied you with the requisite tools for calculating things like Apgar scores and phototherapy requirements by the time you meet a woman in labor. If you are a medical student or midwife apprentice, this app may be useful to you in your studies.

If you are a prenatal patient, educate yourself by all means, but please relax, enjoy your birthing experience, however it turns out, and leave the medicine to the medical practitioners.

The eBook is well done in parts, but some of it is overwhelming and not necessary for the average child.

I did not like the game “Potty Drop” for my son. The idea is to let the toilet paper fall into the toilet but to avoid the non-flushable items such as teddy bears or sets of keys. I would never put the visual of a teddy bear going into a toilet into the mind of my mischievous son, so I will not let him even look at this game.

The “tips and tricks” section for parents is general in nature, but may be helpful to parents with little information on potty training. More well-read parents may find this section lacking. Personally, I disagreed with some of the advice given. I do give credit to the author for showing the discrete use of the potty in the eBook. I think this is something important for a child to see.

In Chain Reaction, the player taps on small squares to initiate a “chain reaction” which looks like a series of small bubbles. Each chain reaction garners points, Timed and free play modes are available.

In Star Chaser, squares are moved around a grid by taping the screen. The object is to collide with stars, garnering points, while avoiding red circles, which end the game. Options include Free Play, Timed mode in which a clock is continuously counts down to zero and is restored through gathering stars, and Challenge mode which challenges the user to obtain a specific amount of points. Three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard) are available.

In Orb Assault, the square is moved along the screen by tapping at the location where you want it to go. Four color options are available at the bottom of the screen; the user chooses a color for the square, and then must collide with the corresponding circles of the same color while avoiding circles of a different color. Three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard) are available.

Eight electronic songs options are available.

I found the games to be very challenging and not seem terribly responsive to my taps. My 4-year old got the hang of it much faster than I did (so what else is new?). The graphics are reminiscent of the 1980’s Atari, but this is a solid game with enough depth to engage and maintain interest.

This all is a great concept, but achieving good results is very difficult in practice. Pictures must have exactly the same lighting and scale to merge effectively. Getting kids to sit still long enough for an unblurred front face shot was more challenging than I had imagined.

Pretty fun, with the caveats mentioned above, I recommend.

The Doctor Says section provides detailed textual overview of development and tips for self-care for the given week of pregnancy. An organizer section is also included, featuring an M.D Visit Planner, To Do list, Newborn Essentials shopping list, and, of course, the inevitable Hospital Bag packing list (do people really pack these bags??).

Possibly the niftiest component of the app is the suite of tools included- a weight tracker (much slicker than the Excel spreadsheet I used), a kick counter, and contraction timer. The kick counter in particular I would have found useful during pregnancy: just hit start and touch the kick button every time that little bundle of joy elbows you in the ribs. When done you have a nice dated report of kicks for the given time interval. Doc will be proud.

The app integrates a great deal of functionality for the pregnant mom into a single clean and streamlined interface. If I were to have another child I would definitely use it.