Quickie #3: The iPhone AI Fetal Movement Detector?

Podcast family we've all heard the rumors that our smartphones are “LISTENING TO US”. Well, some of that is actually true, and trust me I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Our smartphones are capable of remarkable things. A new publication from the Green journal (released ahead of print on 03/05/2026 ) is proposing that it may now be able to detect fetal movement, fetal breathing, and even fetal hiccups when placed over the abdomen! Yep, it's not science fiction... it's science innovation. While this is not ready for prime time just yet, the science is absolutely astounding. In this quicky episode we will briefly summarize a fascinating new innovative study which proposes that our iPhones may be able to be a fetal movement detector.

1. Moise, Kenneth Jr MD; Gaither, Kelly PhD; Madden-Rusnak, Anna PhD; Lowry, Kathy RN, MSN; Hutson, Emily RN, MSN; Bruns, Danielle RDMS; Valero, Reinaldo MD, RDMS. Smartphone Detection of Fetal Movements Using Artificial Intelligence. Obstetrics & Gynecology ():10.1097/AOG.0000000000006228, March 5, 2026. | DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000006228

2. Lai J, Woodward R, Alexandrov Y, et al Performance of a Wearable Acoustic System for Fetal Movement Discrimination. PloS One. 2017.

3. Ashik AK, Gutierrez R, Ashraf F, et al. A Machine Learning Model for Assessing Fetal Health During Pregnancy. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 2025.

4. Antepartum Fetal Surveillance: ACOG Practice Bulletin, Number 229.

Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2021.

5. Monitoring a Pregnancy at Home With a Smartphone This wearable device provides real-time ECG monitoring of a fetus: https://spectrum.ieee.org/pregnancy-heartbeat-monitor-smartphone