Patient-Focused AI System Seeks to Reduce Stress during Pregnancy

Anyone who is having a baby knows there is a long list of things to avoid during pregnancy. While stress management may not always be top of mind, high levels of stress can be dangerous to both the mother and fetus. However, machine learning (ML) systems may offer a solution.
Researchers with the Center for Advancing Safety of Machine Intelligence (CASMI) are studying expectant mothers’ stress levels to combat them in real time and even prevent them. Maia Jacobs, Northwestern assistant professor of computer science and preventive medicine, and Nabil Alshurafa, Northwestern associate professor of preventive medicine and of computer science and electrical and computer engineering, are principal investigators (PIs) of the CASMI-funded research project, “Co-Designing Patient-Facing Machine Learning for Prenatal Stress Reduction.”