Digital Nudges: What Are They And How Can They Help

After delivery, many women leave the hospital feeling well. That is exactly the problem. Some of the most dangerous postpartum complications, including preeclampsia,

Digital Nudges After Birth

Using small prompts to prevent big postpartum harms

A nudge is a subtle change in how choices are presented that predictably alters behavior without restricting options. The concept was formally described and popularized by Richard Thaler, who later received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for showing that human decision-making is not purely rational and that small design choices can meaningfully improve outcomes.

Richard Thaler is a behavioral economist best known for showing that real people do not behave like perfectly rational actors and that small design choices can strongly shape decisions. He is a cofounder of behavioral economics and the 2017 Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences. Thaler popularized the concept of “nudges,” defined as subtle, noncoercive changes in how choices are presented that reliably improve decision-making while preserving autonomy. Classic examples include default enrollment in retirement plans or reminders that increase medication adherence. Nudges do not remove options or force behavior. They change the environment so the safer or wiser choice is easier, more visible, or more likely at the right moment. In health care, Thaler’s work reframed prevention as a design problem rather than a willpower problem, a concept directly relevant to postpartum care, where timely digital prompts can reduce risk without limiting choice or autonomy.

Postpartum care is a textbook case for nudges.

The postpartum blind spot