Penn Medicine-created texting tool may save hundreds of new moms' lives in Philly and beyond

Accredited social health activists (ASHA) travel throughout Indian villages to combat medical misinformation — specifically among pregnant people — and make public healthcare more accessible. ASHAs connects with over 60% of the women in the villages she serves via WhatsApp, sharing educational videos to avoid the harmful effects of misinformation. As a result, ASHAs have had a massive impact on maternal mortality rates. In 2006, the maternal mortality rate was 254 deaths per 100,000 live births, but in 2020 it dropped to 96 per 100,000 births.

Expectant mothers encounter numerous hurdles during pregnancy and childbirth. A pilot project in Mumbai called mMitra sends weekly voice messages to new and expecting mothers, providing critical information and advice on how to maintain their own health and that of their child. Hundreds of women have registered for the program, helping not only to increase the number of healthy pregnancies and births, but creating indirect impacts such as eliminating taboos against morning sickness and raising awareness of the importance of women's health in general.

An average of 28,000 children born in the U.S. each year die before their first birthday – and many more face disabilities and serious life-long health problems, often because they are born prematurely or at low birth weights. A free service, text4baby, delivers crucial health advice via text message to pregnant women and new mothers.

AI software BabyChecker is a portable ultrasound tool that can be accessed through smartphones and allows community health workers to easily and quickly detect pregnancy risks in rural areas where access to care is difficult. So far, over 20 community health workers have been trained to use the technology, and more than 2,000 pregnant women have been scanned using the BabyChecker app.

The PROMPTS AI messaging platform helps connect expecting mothers to proper care to improve maternal and infant health outcomes while reducing the risk of complications. PROMPTS is essentially an AI triage system that allows patients to communicate, ask questions and get referrals to clinics depending on their situation. So far over one million mothers across 21 counties have used their mobile phone numbers to enroll in PROMPTS.

HelpMum offers a vaccination tracker app that allows parents to track their babies’ immunization schedules. Parents can track their child’s vaccination records and see when they’re due for another dose to ensure they’re staying up to date on immunizations.

The Damilola Sickle Cell Foundation provides emotional support and resources to people with sickle cell anemia. The group connects with those in need via WhatsApp and provides monetary support, connections to medical attention and treatment, and support from those who understand what it’s like to have the disease. The group has about 200 people that it checks on and provides free medications to each month.

Maternal Expert Thinking Analyzer is a pilot project to prevent maternal mortality that uses a mobile diagnostic, training, and outreach application to help midwives assess the risk of their patients in rural areas. Midwives input data collected from pregnant mothers into the app and generate an automated risk-based assessment score. The pregnant mother then receives a text with advice based on her risk level. A total of 33 midwives across 14 regions are trained to use the app. Initial results indicate that the app has had positive results preventing maternal mortality and even increasing antenatal care.

Vermont has opened its first donor milk center which acts as a breast milk bank for mothers that are in need of milk for their newborn babies. The Vermont Donor Milk Center aims to be a "one-stop shop," and also offers lactation consultation, maternal education, and supports for non-lactating partners.

To remind tuberculosis patients to take their medication, hospitals in India incorporated the use of mobile phones. When patients received their medication by mail, the packaging material instructed them to call a toll-free number, which allowed the healthcare providers to check back in on those that did not call.