Mobile phones save mothers and babies during birth

“I felt something was wrong with my labour and I called the midwife, who told me to come to the health centre urgently. The midwife tried to help me and even called the hospital to ask for advice. Then she called again and the hospital sent an ambulance for me. I had an operation and my child survived.”

During a recent informal chat with women from my village on safe motherhood, Taifa’s experience was one of the success stories that were told. What had saved her baby’s life was a mobile phone. Taifa was one of the 100 pregnant women that had registered their mobile phones with the local health clinic upon their first antenatal visit. Since then, they had received a number of benefits, such as helpful text messages on their mobile phones about what kinds of foods to eat, how to prepare for the arrival of their babies and reminders on when to attend the next antenatal check-up. They were also given a nurse’s cell phone number in case of any questions or emergencies - a lifesaving number, as it turned out for Taifa.