“The tipping point for smartphones is now,” claims BabyCenter, the mom-focused internet portal. Mothers are 18% more likely to have a smartphone than the average person, according to the 2011 Mobile Mom Report, a survey from BabyCenter.

Why do moms like smartphones? According to BabyCenter, the smartphone is a mom’s “helping hand.” Nearly 1 in 2 say the smartphone helps them decrease stress, and 1 in 4 say it gives them a sense of calm. So is the smartphone in itself a health-promoting device?

For readers of Health Populi, the answer is “yes” based on this poll. In the past month, 33% of moms used the smartphone for health and fitness functions, compared to 22% of the general population. 38% of moms have smartphones for tracking health and fitness, and 9 in 10 of these app users say they’re a convenient way to track their family’s health and wellness.

The killer app on the smartphone is researching health conditions, which 9 in 10 smartphone-carrying moms do. 60% track information on health and wellness. Furthermore, 80% of women with smartphones say they “love” looking up health and wellness info on their smartphones.

BabyCenter reaches 25 million expecting and experienced moms, 10 million of whom live in the U.S. The site claims to be the most popular social networking site for product recommendations among new and expectant moms, with 3 in 4 mothers sharing the information they get on BabyCenter with other moms.

Being smartphone-mobile also enables moms to be more active in online social networks, with moms 40% more likely than average to use the mobile phone for social. 72% of moms, versus 52% of the general population, use phones for social use, from using cameras and social media to shopping socially. “Mom-to-mom wisdom is key,” BabyCenter notes. Moms consult with each other online when deciding what to buy.

And shopping in the So-Lo-Mo world — Social-Local-Mobile — is a team sport for moms, with 55% of moms wanting mobile coupons, 34% wanting to learn about a nearby deal, and 29% desiring barcodes they can scan for more product information. Thus, mobile advertising is an important new format for organizations that want to deal with moms. Why? Because 46% of moms have taken an action after seeing an ad on their smartphone, BabyCenter found.

For the study, BabyCenter conducted a survey among over 5,000 respondent mothers. BabyCenter also conducted ethnographic research among 23 mothers analyzing 1,000 text logs and 200 video entries, along with conducting 32 hours of in-home interviews and incorporating data from third parties including eMarketer, Apple, Dynamic Logic, Gartner and Google.

Health Populi’s Hot Points: Health is mobile, and health care is local. The So-Lo-Mo phenomenon plays beautifully into the world of moms, who are their families’ Chief Household Officers. Mothers have been the key determinants of health and health care consumption in their households, and mobile gives them the platform that makes their health decisions more efficient and even engaging.

Moms index higher for health, social and shopping compared to the general population. That’s a sweet spot for health marketers, who need to incorporate mobile programs into marketing strategies to reach moms where they want to be reached. Beyond shopping and local couponing, expert content online would feed moms’ needs to access information via mobile, as well.