Motherhood brings significant challenges, especially for working mothers who must balance professional responsibilities, family obligations, and personal well-being. For those living with migraines—the second most debilitating neurological condition in the world —this balancing act becomes even more difficult. Working mothers may be especially vulnerable to experience poor sleep hygiene – as they try to balance work with family obligations, suffering from chronic stress, and insufficient personal resources to deal with daily challenges and routine disruptions. Poor sleep hygiene may be developing over a longer period, resulting in fatigue and exhaustion and may have destructive long-term influences on the individual’s psychological and physical health, cognition, and behavior, leading to a burnout state. All these outcomes have a profound impact on migraines, as this condition is often triggered or exacerbated by chronic stress, sleep disturbances, and acute disruptions in daily routines.
MOTHERCare study aims to support working mothers with migraines by helping them to better understand and manage their migraine episodes, ultimately improving their quality of life. The study will focus on Garmin’s Enhanced BBI, Stress and Body Battery metrics as crucial endpoints for overcharge, energy levels and recovery and providing insights into how stress accumulation and insufficient recovery impact migraine outcomes. We will as well monitor physical activity, period phases, heart rate metrics, and sleep to better evaluate how daily behavior of working mothers fluctuates and affects their migraine episodes. Garmin’s smartwatch data will be combined with self-reported information about migraine episodes, such as triggers, symptoms, reliefs, using online diaries (such as MigraineBuddy).
MOTHERCare is an observational and non-interventional study involving up to 30 working mothers with migraines for three months. The primary objectives of the study are
By addressing the intersection between motherhood and migraines, MOTHERCare represents a step forward for the research community in understanding how wearable technology can serve crucial healthcare purposes. The study aims to empower working mothers acquiring awareness around their migraine episodes and better manage their demanding lives with migraine, which will result in a significant impact on their quality of life.
Swiss Principal Investigator
University of Geneva, Switzerland
Dr. Anna Ferrari, GSEM, CUI, QoL Technologies Lab