Expectant mothers in Abu Dhabi facing high-risk pregnancies are to be provided with wearable devices under a pioneering project exploring how everyday technology can help deliver crucial warning signs over premature births.
The emirate's Department of Health has launched a major 24-month pilot study with Oura, the maker of the world's smallest smart ring, to identify risks in pregnancy and allow care teams to intervene sooner to provide potentially life-saving support to mothers and babies.
Project Cradle - Capturing Risk And Detecting Labor signals in Elevated-risk pregnancies - will seek to harness advanced technology to bolster public health.
The initiative was unveiled by Noura Al Ghaithi, undersecretary of the Department of Health, and Oura chief executive Tom Hale at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit, being held at Adnec until Thursday.
How will the project work?
Project Cradle will combine continuous wearable data from the use of the Oura Ring - a titanium smart ring that tracks key metrics such as sleep patterns, heart rate, temperature and stress - with Abu Dhabi’s clinical and genomic data to better understand risk factors around preterm birth.
Research suggests that biometrics such as heart rate for pregnant women shift in the weeks before delivery. The project will test whether such changes can be detected in individual women, allowing health professionals to take proactive action.
The study will get under way in the coming weeks and will follow an Abu Dhabi-based sample of women with elevated-risk pregnancies who will wear Oura Ring from early pregnancy through delivery.
The latest Oura Ring 5 is on sale in the UAE for Dh1,599 and is one of a number of wearable tech products rolled out by the Finnish company.
During the trial, Oura Ring will monitor biometrics such as heart rate, sleep and activity, which researchers will pair with clinical outcomes to build a comprehensive dataset.
The study will investigate whether a reliable physiological signal appears before spontaneous preterm labour.
It will also assess whether that signal could define a clinically actionable threshold — early enough for care teams to give treatments that support improved baby outcomes, such as lung and brain health, or to arrange transfer to specialist neonatal care.
Corniche Hospital and Mediclinic Airport Road, two of the capital's leading maternal care centres, will take part in the pilot phase.
“In Abu Dhabi, we are building an intelligent health system of the future,” said Dr Al Ghaithi.
“Continuous sensing enables a shift from reactive care to healthcare that anticipates risk, detects warning signs sooner, and enables faster, more precise and personalised intervention.
"Project Cradle brings this approach to pregnancy and birth, one of the most pivotal moments in life, building the evidence to guide more timely care.
“Women's health and fertility are at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s health priorities. Our ambition is to become a leading centre for reproductive health that is grounded in research that advances care.
Tom Hale, chief executive of Oura, said the partnership highlights the potential for health care and technology to combine to improve lives.
“Project Cradle shows what could be possible when a forward-thinking health system combines clinical excellence with accurate, continuous monitoring," he said.
"We're proud to work alongside a health authority setting that standard, improving outcomes for families in the Emirate, and creating pathways that can be used across the world to improve health.”
What is premature birth?
Premature, or preterm, birth is when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy and can occur spontaneously or following medical intervention.
It affects 1 in 10 births worldwide and remains one of the most unpredictable complications in pregnancy and can lead to a wide variety of long-term health challenges for mother and child.
Common conditions that affect premature babies include anemia, respiratory issues, jaundice, bleeding to the brain and heart problems. They can also be at heightened risk of developmental challenges such as learning disabilities, hearing and vision problems and cerebral palsy.
Mothers who go through premature labours are more likely to face anxiety, pospartum depression, post traumatic stress disorders and problems bonding with their babies, according to health experts.
Long-term vision
Wearable technology is playing a more significant role in preventative healthcare.
A five-pillar framework has been set out for Abu Dhabi to manage the integration of tech into everyday care.
It has been developed by health authorities in partnership with Knowledge Contributor Deloitte, and includes guidance on consumer adoption, as well as privacy and clinical regulation.
According to Deloitte, the global wearable technology market was valued at $92.9 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $229.9 billion by 2033.
Disease prevention guidance is already operating under Department of Health protocols.
Under the authority’s Sahatna platform, data gleaned from wearable devices is paired with longitudinal health records from Malaffi to generate a personalised health age score.
It gives users insights into the clinical and lifestyle factors influencing their health, and suggest what amendments can be made to improve their quality of life.