MUMS in Bradford are helping to develop a new app to guide people through one of the hardest periods of parenthood.

The free app, called Baby Buddy, takes expectant mothers through pregnancy and the first six months of motherhood.

It works on smartphones and tablets, and gives health advice, information about the baby's development and even allows parents to set reminders about important health appointments.

There is a hard-hitting aim behind the app - to bring down the number of babies who die during their first year, by getting important health messages to the target under-25 age group.

And although the app is being promoted to expectant parents across the district, in one area of the city young mums and health professionals are actually helping to develop it.

Earlier this year, local early-years project Better Start Bradford was given £49 million of Lottery cash to help very young children in Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Little Horton.

Because of this, the app's developer, child health charity Best Beginnings, chose Bradford as one of five areas to test out the app.

Jo Howes, of Better Start Bradford, said an app was a great way to get messages through to the target age range.

She said: "This is a way that a lot of the young mums, that this app is aimed at, get their information."

She said feedback was being fed to Best Beginnings so it can make improvements.

So far, this has included suggestions that the app should be more reflective of different cultures, bring out a version for dads, and include more video clips with northern, rather than southern, mums.

So the app developers could soon be heading to Bradford to film video clips featuring Yorkshire accents.

The app was officially unveiled in London today and mums were trying it out at a tie-in event at Tyersal Children's Centre in Bradford.

Jodie Simpson, 22, mother of eight-month-old Millie-Mae Page, said: "It's good, all the information is together."

She said she would have found the appointment reminders useful, as it was easy to forget them.

And Charlene Hollingworth, 20, mum of seven-month-old Riley, said: "It's alright, but I think it needs to go to an older age to help mums with babies who have started crawling and walking.

"It's only up to six months, so it's no help to me now."