Parents looking for answers to questions about sleep schedules, feeding struggles or behavioral issues often turn to internet searches, especially during late-night moments when doctors’ offices are closed.
A parenting app created by a South Florida mother aims to provide another option.
Michelle Brown, CEO and co-founder of iHelpMoms, said the app was designed to help parents navigate common challenges related to sleep, potty training, feeding and behavior while connecting them with expert guidance.
“IHelpMoms was designed to help parents through the most common parenting challenges that we all go through, and we have created an app that is for sleep, potty training, feeding and behavior,” she said.
Brown, a mother of three, said the idea for the app stemmed from her own struggles with postpartum depression after the birth of her child.
“Honestly, I felt like I had gotten hit by a Mack truck,” Brown said.
Despite taking classes and seeking support, Brown said she struggled with breastfeeding and felt overwhelmed by conflicting advice.
“I could not make more than a half an ounce of milk, and everyone was telling me power pump or try this feeding technique, and it just kept pushing me down underneath postpartum depression more and more and more,” she said.
The experience inspired her to create a platform where exhausted parents could quickly access information and support.
“That’s always my mentality in building the app — how can a very exhaustive parent just do a one click to get a plan in 60 seconds to get through the day, to track easily with one click, to find a milestone development, to give them hope and finally to connect them to our iHelpMoms certified coaches in one click,” Brown said.
The app includes five certified coaches with specialties ranging from mental health and relationships to children’s behavioral issues.
Rebecca Crowers, one of the app’s certified coaches, said the goal is to provide parents with personalized guidance.
“When she opens up the app and she clicks on behavior, she can answer a few questions, which literally takes one minute, and after she does that, it’s a real plan for her real life,” Crowers said. “That’s the most important thing is, we meet moms right where they are.”
Crowers, a mental health expert and biblical counselor, said one of the most important pieces of parenting advice she gives is simple.
“Regulate yourself first,” she said. “When we’re calmer, our kids feel that.”
Brown said another feature allows parents to receive guidance through a real-time chat system guided by experts.
“One of the most important things I found when I was sitting rocking the baby that wasn’t sleeping is I needed someone to chat with,” she said. “So we created an online real-time chat that is guided by our experts so the mom can type their question there and it’s going to give you a real-time solution for that moment of your life.”
The app also offers tools that track milestones and child development.
Chelsea Parra, a mother who uses iHelpMoms, said the app has helped her stay informed about her child’s growth.
“It is so accurate to what I am going through in real time with her age,” Parra said. “I go to the other parts too because it’s great to log food and diapers and eventually when she’s potty training, I’m sure I’ll use that a lot.”
Brown said the app is also designed to recognize that parenting styles vary from family to family.
“There’s no one right way to be a mom,” Brown said. “We really help parents cultivate how do you parent. Do you want to be an attachment parent? Are you a more modern balanced parent? Are you a high-achiever parent? What outcome and what style of parenting?”
For Brown, the mission behind the app is personal.
“I was actually born into an orphanage in Calcutta, India, and I was four pounds, severely malnourished, and it was just a very dire situation,” Brown said.“And I actually got saved out of the orphanage by an amazing family that adopted me.”
Brown said those experiences continue to shape her work.
“I never want another mom to feel alone like my mom, and I never want another mom to feel like a failure like I felt, because I couldn’t make the milk, and I couldn’t get my baby to sleep, and I just constantly felt like I was failing all the time,” she said. “My greatest hope is that the iHelpMoms app can be that hope in a mother’s pocket.”
Brown said she is happy to work with pediatricians in developing the app, but stressed that it is not intended to replace medical care.
Parents who believe their child is sick or something may be wrong should contact their pediatrician.
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