Marketplace Tech Having a child in a digital economy
8 snips
May 19, 2025 
Amanda Hess, a journalist and internet culture writer for the New York Times, shares her insights on motherhood in a digital world. She reveals how technology influences pregnancy, starting with period-tracking apps like Flo Health. Hess discusses the emotional rollercoaster of facing unexpected medical challenges while navigating digital tools. She highlights the contrast between clinical data and real-life parenting experiences, while also addressing critical concerns about data privacy in fertility apps. Her experiences offer a candid look at parenthood in the age of technology.
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App Helped Conceive Child
- Amanda Hess used the period-tracking app Flo Health to help conceive her child.
- She experienced a deep intimacy with the app that evolved during her pregnancy.
Pregnancy Apps Miss Complexity
- Amanda faced troubling news at seven months and felt alienated by pregnancy apps that assumed normalcy.
- The apps failed to address her high-risk pregnancy and did not reflect her unique situation.
Scary Online Medical Research
- Amanda researched Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome online despite medical advice not to.
- She encountered frightening medical imagery that shaped her fears about her child's future.
