In an era in which smart phones can certainly create distractions and annoyances, there are also scores of stories about the ways in which apps and new technologies are helping transform — and even save — peoples’ lives.
READ: ‘Only Explanation was Divine Intervention’: Mysterious Voice Led Cops to Save Baby’s Life
Consider the case of Emily Eekhoff, a pregnant woman who downloaded the app “Count the Kicks” when she was about seven months pregnant; she had used it when her son, Liam, was born two years ago and figured it would be good to use again.
“Count the Kicks” is an app that helps monitor the kicks and movements of unborn babies during the third trimester of pregnancy, according to the Good News Network.
Around Eekhoff’s 33-week mark of pregnancy, the app detected that her unborn baby girl wasn’t as active as normal, with the kicking essentially stopping its normal pattern on May 30. According to “Today,” the expectant mother got pretty nervous when she realized that there was little to no fetal movement.
“Normally any time I would sit she would start to get active and usually I could get 10 kicks in under 10 minutes,” she told InsideEdition.com. “Lunch time I tried to do a count and sitting down I got maybe three kicks in a half hour which was unusual for sure.”
That’s when the 26-year-old immediately went to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, to have the situation looked at.
There, at the hospital, doctors told her that her unborn baby had a heartbeat, but that there was no movement due to the fact that the umbilical cord was wrapped three times around the baby girl’s head. Doctors immediately performed a cesarean section, which saved the baby’s life, Good News Network reported.
Now, baby Ruby is totally healthy after spending 20 days in the NUCI, leaving Eekhoff totally thankful to the makers of the “Count the Kicks” app, whom she credits with making the discovery — and the life-saving treatment — possible.
The app was founded back in 2009 by five women who all lost babies to stillbirth or other issues; they wanted to use the technology to help others like Eekhoff, and their efforts have clearly paid off.
“We could have been grieving instead of having a healthy baby,” she told InsideEdition.com. “It’s hard to know what could have been, but based on doctors, one more day she likely wouldn’t have been alive. We had a couple weeks to go so we’re wrapping our heads around that she’s here.”
Dr. Neil Mandsager, a doctor at Mercy Medical Center who ordered Eekhoff’s emergency delivery, told “Today” that he believes that, without intervention, the most likely scenario in Ruby’s situation would have been “stillbirth at some point.”
“She saved her baby’s life by paying attention to her baby’s activity,” he said.