Delivering on Digital: A Review of Virtual Health Literature in Perinatal Care

Virtual health aims to transform the delivery of healthcare and improve overall patient experiences and health outcomes. Women of reproductive age are frequent users of digital technologies, and the perinatal period presents an opportunity to improve both child and maternal health outcomes. Healthcare professionals recognize the importance of leveraging digital technologies to strengthen the delivery of patient-centred care during the perinatal period. This report reviews the current literature on digital health technologies targeted at pregnancy to assess the success factors, limitations and considerations necessary for implementation. Identified success factors include convenience, extended interactions between patient and provider and anonymity. Identified limitations include the digital divide, provider pushback and privacy concerns. The decision to implement digital health interventions also requires consideration of the potential for victim blaming, increases in social equity and complexity in health behaviour change.