FISHERS, Ind. — An app that helps moms monitor their baby's movements late in pregnancy is saving lives in Indiana.
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield partnered with "Count the Kicks" for a public health campaign this year. A family in Fishers is thankful they used it.
There was joy for the Peterson family's rainbow baby this summer, following the heartbreaking loss of their son at 20 weeks last fall.
Kendra Peterson was already on high alert and her pregnancy with her daughter, Piper, wasn't easy.
"We had lots of indicators that things weren't going as planned," she said. "It wasn't the picture-perfect pregnancy as we'd hoped."
But this mother never expected an app on her phone would help save her baby's life.
"I absolutely believe that. If I had not been counting her kicks and gone into the hospital that day, I honestly don't know how much longer she would have made it," Peterson said.
Count the Kicks is a new campaign in Indiana.
In Iowa, where it's been in use for more than 10 years, it's reduced incidents of stillbirth by 32%. That state went from one of the worst stillbirth rates in the country, to one of the best.
Count the Kicks is an app that Kendra learned about on a Facebook mom's group and at a prenatal visit. It's a way to monitor your baby during the third trimester.
The app is free. It's simple. And health care providers say evidence shows it works.
"That's the key. It's easy to use. You can use it anywhere at any time and that's what makes it a game-changer," said Lori Riester, a registered nurse and Anthem OB practice consultant. "It enables you to check in on the well-being of baby, getting to know your baby's movements."
The CDC says a change in fetal movement is one of the top warning signs something's wrong during pregnancy.
So the app is a daily tracker.
"Once in the morning, once in the evening, around her most active times, is when I would typically start counting her kicks," Peterson said. "You would click the little foot icon in the middle and start counting kicks as they would come along."
"Once you get to ten kicks, you can mark that and monitor it and you keep track of baby's progress," Riester said. "It also asks about the strength of the movements, what type of movements they are and you should start to notice a pattern very quickly."
"You're just trying to start learning your baby's typical movements so that you know if something is abnormal or maybe you can sense that they're in distress," Peterson said.
Peterson did notice something off this summer.
"She was moving and she was kicking, but the kicking seemed to be more faint," Peterson explained. "I think I got four in an hour instead of a typical ten in an hour."
After a couple more times monitoring, noticing similar changes, she called her OB. At the hospital, after a few tests confirmed a problem, doctors decided to deliver Piper by C-section 12 weeks early.
As it turns out, she had damage to her placenta. Piper hadn't been getting enough needed oxygen and nutrients.
Now, she's in the NICU, getting stronger each day.
Peterson said counting the kicks helped her survive.
"So I just want to encourage all moms out there to get this app," she said. "If something's off, go talk to your doctor immediately, because it's definitely worth it."
It was for this family. Piper will join her older sisters at home soon.
The app is available for download in your phone's app store.