Mobile Health Around the Globe: Spain and InShapeMoms

Kaisa Tuominen

Kaisa Tuominen

EXCLUSIVE POST – Kaisa Tuominen, Director and owner of Fitness Integral in Banyoles, Spain, is a 2005 graduate from Oregon State University with a B.S. in Exercise Science and a Master in Public Health.  Kaisa’s application, In Shape Moms, a smartphone application for pregnancy fitness and birth preparation will be presented at Doctors 2.0 & You in Paris on May 23-24, as a reward for having won the recent Barcelona Mobile Apps on Health Circus .  The motivation behind Kaisa’s work is to empower women to stay healthy during pregnancy, be informed and enjoy a wonderful birthing experience, recover properly postpartum, and feel confident in mothering. 

Following is an interview with Kaisa:

Q   Kaisa Tell us how you got interested in Mobile Health and why in Europe?

A   I created the In Shape Moms mobile application because I saw it as a good opportunity to educate women and mothers on issues that can change the world.  By empowering women to take care of their health during pregnancy and preparing for a physiologic birth the health of the next generations improves.   I saw how the women coming to my courses at my center, Fitness Integral in Banyoles, had healthier babies, nicer births, and felt better during motherhood.  I wanted to be able to offer the same program to women around the world.  I want to see this app change the way babies are gestated, born, and parented.  I believe this will improve the world we live in.  

 Q   And why in Europe?

 A   I am from Finland, did my studies in the USA and then followed my heart and married a Catalan.  In Spain I opened a wellness center dedicated to perinatal women.  The nice thing about using technology is that we don’t have to be limited to our geographical areas.  My off-line work concentrates in Europe but my on-line programs are used by women all over the world.  

 Q   We know your app In Shape Women helps pregnant women and young mothers. But can you be more specific about what it does and how it does it.                                                                 

 A   The In Shape Moms app empowers women.  It is based on my E.M.P.O.W.E.R.E.D. Moms principles which are the guiding principles for all the programs I direct at my center.  The entire concept is about health being multidimensional and for optimal pregnancy, birth, and mothering we need to address all the components:

E xercise
M indset
P roper Alignment
O ptimal Lifestyle
W ater
E ncouragement & Support
R esponsability
E ducation
D iet

 The app does this through exercise videos, mindset exercises (affirmations, visualizations, relaxation), instructions for optimal sleep, nutrition, hydration, environmental health, a direct link to our online community for support, and tools to help with decisions surrounding birth and parenting options.  

Q   We know that you won a recent contest in Barcelona and will be showing your App in Paris at Doctors 2.0 & You.   How does this recognition make you feel?  And what do the users tell you?

A    It has been wonderful getting an opportunity to get the message out to women that the way we give birth birth matters and that it can be a wonderful experience.  I have enjoyed getting the opportunity to speak about my passion to a bigger audience which hopefully means more babies and moms will experience wonderful respected births.  

Women who follow my programs have fantastic results.  They enjoy healthy pregnancies with more energy and avoid common issues such as back pain, excessive weight gain, gestacional diabetes, etc.  They feel calm and confident about birthing.  They choose careful where and with whom their babies enter the world.  They live the process of pregnancy, birthing and parenting fully informed and conscious of the responsibilities and joys that come with the territory.  They are healthy, informed, and accompanied.  
In Shape Moms are empowered.  This in turn supports optimal health for babies which improves the health of our future generations.  

Q   Any future plans you’d like to tell us about in Mobile Health?

 A   My next steps are:
-Creating a postpartum app (based on my book/program Postnatal Body Fixwww.postnatalbodyfix.com)
-Creating an app about the Hypopresive Method with the creator of the method, Marcel Caufriez
-Launching Android versions of the apps
-Finding sponsors/collaborations to monetize the apps

Please go to our Mobile Health Around the Globe page to read other posts in this great ongoing series

And if YOU have a Mobile Health Around the Globe story to tell, please email me at joan@socialmediatoday.com