First-time mothers using the Baby2Home app for a year after birth reported fewer symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety than those receiving usual postpartum care.

The study found women randomised to the app reported better overall health than first-time mothers who received usual care alone.

Baby2Home is a digital tool to help new families with newborn care and staying healthy.

It offers tailored educational content, infant care trackers and mental health self-management tools, plus access to a care manager for on-demand mental health and problem-solving support.

Emily S. Miller is principal investigator and division director of maternal-fetal medicine at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

She said: “Evidence-based digital tools like Baby2Home are opening the door to a new era of postpartum care.

“We can now extend high-quality support beyond hospital walls and into families’ everyday lives. The mental health improvements we saw underscore just how transformational that support can be.”

Researchers from Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago ran a multi-site randomised controlled trial between November 2022 and July 2025.

The trial enrolled 642 postpartum patients, all first-time parents. For 12 months after birth, all participants received usual postpartum care; half also used the Baby2Home smartphone app.

Participants reported progress electronically at five time points over the first year. Compared with the control group, those assigned to Baby2Home reported significantly fewer symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety.

They also reported better overall health, higher relationship satisfaction with partners and family members, and greater confidence in their parenting than the control group.

Miller said: “The first year after birth is a critical period for parental mental health. Baby2Home helped new parents feel more confident, more supported and more connected.

“That translated into better health outcomes for them and their families.”

Nearly 70 per cent of NHS regions in England fund only one IVF cycle for women under 40, breaking national guidelines, new research has found.

Twenty-nine of the 42 integrated care boards, which control local NHS budgets, now offer only one round of treatment, after four reduced access in the past year.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) guidelines recommend three full cycles for women under 40 who have been unable to conceive for two years.

Only two of England’s 42 integrated care boards have policies consistent with these guidelines, which they are not legally obliged to follow.

The research was conducted by the Progress Educational Trust, a fertility charity.

Sarah Norcross, the director of PET, said the impact was “devastating” for couples struggling with infertility.

She said: “Infertility is already incredibly stressful for people, and it puts them under even more pressure, because there is so much riding on whether that one NHS-funded cycle is going to work.

“And for some people, that will be their only chance, because private fertility treatment is so expensive.”

The data showed regional variations, with the whole of the north-west offering just one cycle.

“It’s a postcode lottery, and we’re seeing a race to the bottom,” said Norcross.

Of the 29 integrated care boards that offer a single cycle, 19 provide only a partial cycle, where not all viable embryos created are transferred.

There was just one recent example of improved services, from NHS South East London, which in July 2024 went from one partial to two full cycles.

The NHS estimates that about one in seven couples may have difficulty achieving a pregnancy. One cycle of IVF can cost from £5,000 at a private clinic.

Fertility rates in England and Wales have fallen since 2010 to 1.41 children per woman in 2024, the lowest on record and below the replacement level of 2.1 at which a population is stable without immigration.

Health minister Karin Smyth said in a written parliamentary answer last month that it was “unacceptable” that access to NHS-funded fertility services varied across the country.

Revised Nice fertility guidelines are due this spring, but Norcross said changing them seemed pointless.

She said: “Fertility treatment has always been a Cinderella service. It’s always been the one they’ve chosen to cut or to ignore.

“Nice has recommended three full NHS-funded cycles, for women under 40, for more than 20 years. This has never been implemented across England, unlike in Scotland.”

Norcross advocated centralised commissioning and replicating Scotland’s approach, which included financial modelling and a phased implementation starting with two cycles to avoid long waits, moving up to three once capacity was achieved.

“It is a tried and tested plan that England could follow,” Norcross added.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We recognise access to fertility treatment varies across the country and we are working with the NHS to improve consistency.

“Nice provides clear clinical guidelines, and we expect integrated care boards to commission treatment in line with these.

“Updated Nice fertility guidelines are expected this spring and we will continue to support NHS England to make sure the guidance is fully considered in local commissioning decisions.”

An NHS England spokesperson said: “These clinical services are commissioned by integrated care boards for their area based on the needs of the local population and prioritisation of resources available.

“All ICBs have a responsibility to ensure services are provided fairly and are accessible by different population groups.”

Calla Lily Clinical Care has partnered with Merck to support the intravaginal drug delivery platform Callavid in an effort to improve how vaginal medicines are given.

The collaboration will continue development of Callavid, described as a leak-resistant device that addresses challenges with self-administered vaginal therapies.

Callavid uses a small, tampon-shaped device with an integrated absorbent liner. It is inserted, remains in place during drug absorption, then is removed.

The platform is intended for use with medicines in fertility treatment, oncology and hormone therapy. Administration via the vaginal route can prompt patient anxiety about positioning, dosing accuracy and leakage.

The partnership is the first industry collaboration for the Callavid technology, which was developed by Calla Lily Clinical Care.

Thang Vo-Ta, co-founder and chief executive of Calla Lily Clinical Care, said: “This collaboration with Merck marks an important milestone in the development of Callavid, our novel vaginal drug delivery platform.

“Merck’s scientific heritage and forward-looking approach to innovation make them an ideal partner as we work to address long-standing unmet needs in women’s health.

“By improving how vaginal therapeutics are delivered and experienced, Callavid has the potential to enhance both patient outcomes and quality of life.

“We see this collaboration as a meaningful step towards translating our technology into real-world clinical and patient impact.”

Calla Lily Clinical Care is seeking to develop what it describes as the world’s first drug-device combination product to prevent threatened miscarriage and for IVF luteal phase support, the phase after ovulation when the body produces progesterone to support early pregnancy.

The device is also being developed to deliver therapeutics for oncology, menopause, infectious diseases and live biotherapeutics to reduce repeated antibiotic use.

Dr Lara Zibners, co-founder and chairman of Calla Lily Clinical Care, said: “Our initial engagement with Merck through the Merck Innovation Challenge in October 2024 was an important moment of alignment around the need for more patient-centric innovation in women’s health.

“As both a clinician and a patient, I have seen how profoundly drug delivery can shape treatment experience.

“This collaboration builds on that early dialogue and reflects a shared interest in rigorously exploring new approaches that may improve how therapies are delivered and experienced by patients.”