Wearable devices such as the Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Garmin may soon play a transformative role in monitoring pregnancy and detecting complications, according to new research from Scripps Research. The study, published in eBioMedicine, shows that data collected from consumer wearables—like heart rate, sleep, and activity levels—align with known hormonal changes during pregnancy, offering a promising path to remote, continuous maternal health monitoring. The research team, led by co-senior authors Giorgio Quer and Tolúwalàṣẹ Àjàyí, used PowerMom, a bilingual digital platform, to gather real-world data from over 5,600 participants who voluntarily shared information from their personal wearable devices. A subset of 108 individuals provided data from three months before pregnancy through six months after delivery. Using advanced statistical models, the researchers identified clear physiological patterns tied to key pregnancy hormones including estrogen, progesterone, and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). One of the most notable findings was the pattern of heart rate changes. In early pregnancy, heart rate typically decreased between weeks five and nine, then gradually increased, peaking about eight to nine weeks before delivery—reaching levels up to 9.4 beats per minute above pre-pregnancy baselines. After childbirth, heart rate dropped below normal levels before returning to baseline around six months postpartum. These patterns matched established hormone trends from prior studies, suggesting wearables could serve as indirect indicators of hormonal health. The findings are especially significant given the current state of maternal care in the U.S., where more than 2 million women live in maternal care deserts—areas with limited access to obstetric services. Remote monitoring through widely available devices could help bridge this gap, enabling earlier detection of complications like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth. In an exploratory analysis, the team observed distinct heart rate patterns in pregnancies that ended in miscarriage or stillbirth compared to those that resulted in live births. While these early signals are not yet conclusive, they highlight the potential for wearables to flag high-risk pregnancies before symptoms become apparent. The researchers emphasize that this approach leverages technology people already own, making it scalable and accessible. The goal is to develop personalized, data-driven tools that support maternal health across diverse populations, including different age groups, geographic regions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Future work will involve collecting both wearable data and blood samples from participants to directly validate the link between physiological signals and hormone levels. The team also plans to expand the study to better understand how these patterns vary across different populations and to explore how such insights could inform clinical decisions. “This could be a game-changer for maternal health,” says first author Giulia Milan, a graduate student at UC San Diego working with Scripps Research. “If we can use everyday devices to detect early warning signs, we can help more women have healthier pregnancies and safer deliveries.”