Swipe right for baby care: longitudinal insights of prenatal care app adoption

Purpose By integrating the innovation resistance theory, the health belief model and the uses and gratification theory, this study seeks to provide an in-depth exploration of the adoption and usage patterns of prenatal care apps by pregnant mothers. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a longitudinal design to investigate the behavior of pregnant mothers using prenatal care apps across three key stages of pregnancy, spanning from the first trimester to the last. Findings The findings from the three waves-structural equation modeling demonstrated that factors such as barriers related to innovation (i.e. image, usage and traditional barriers), health beliefs (i.e. perceived severity, susceptibility and self-efficacy) and user gratification (i.e. informational, emotional and utilitarian gratification) significantly impact pregnant mothers’ resistance, behavioral intention and satisfaction with prenatal care apps. The study also reveals the moderating role of technology adoption propensity, curiosity and perceived trust. Originality/value This study offers a novel longitudinal perspective on consumer behavior, particularly in terms of adoption, resistance behaviors and satisfaction of pregnant mothers toward prenatal care apps.