Mama's Hub: Technology revolutionising maternal healthcare

David Saruni might appear to be any other undergraduate Computer Science student, immersed in the world of distractions at his fingertips while attending virtual classes. 

Saruni, unlike others however, is charting his course - he is among a team of students remotely monitoring the health of several pregnant women in Nakuru through Mama’s Hub, a pioneer digital library that contains information concerning pregnant mothers.

Saruni and six other students are on internship, undertaking a one-of-a-kind project that seeks to digitise antenatal clinics while monitoring blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate of pregnant women remotely, to arrest conditions like eclampsia and pre-eclampsia.

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“With this project, I work from anywhere to monitor how pregnant women are doing. It is a project where we participate as students to use the skills we learn to develop critical solutions in the health sector,” Saruni says.

Mama’s Hub is a National Research Funding project being developed by IntelliSOFT in partnership with a consortium of Computer Science and Health experts from Kabarak and Strathmore Universities, the Technical University of Mombasa, and e-Med Solutions.

The hub allows community health workers to record details from an antenatal visit on an Android smartphone and generate electronic referrals to a health facility. A standout feature of the app is its integration with a smartwatch. This smartwatch monitors vital signs such as blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate, which is crucial for detecting conditions like pre-eclampsia.

On an ordinary day, Saruni monitors information relayed to the hub to check how the mothers are doing wherever they are. He is also part of the team being mentored to continuously improve the hub that will finally incorporate artificial intelligence aspects that will allow mothers to interact with caregivers or even among themselves.

“It makes me happy that the skills I gain in class and during mentorship are bringing a revolution to the health sector,” Saruni says.

Dr Moses Thiga, the principal investigator of the project, said that the project first focused on digitising the records for easier access by caregivers so that they know the mother’s state in real-time even when they are away. 

“Our project is about digitising this information in a manner that allows it to be available in real-time to critical caregivers like antenatal care nurses at the health facilities and even family members at home. This information will help caregivers know what is happening to the mother wherever they are so that they can participate effectively in caring for them,” he added.

The hub, he said, is being developed in phases. The first phase featured the digitising of the antenatal care booklet, a milestone that has been tested in three antenatal clinics in Nakuru including Bondeni Maternity, Bahati, and the Margaret Kenyatta Mother&Baby unit at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital.

“The importance of having antenatal data digitised is that mothers will only be required to have an identifier for the caregiver to access the records. Through this, mothers will not have to worry about misplacing the booklet or seeking services within any facility while receiving maximum care,” he added.

Thiga added that digitised antenatal records also allow policymakers and planners to analyse the timely records to seal the existing gaps in service delivery.

He said that the second phase monitoring blood pressure in an out-of-clinic setting came in to arrest incidences at the onset. The team of experts analysed the gaps within maternal healthcare that often lead to maternal deaths. The team, he said, then realised that regular updates on the health of the pregnant women were important for timely attention.

Nakuru County Chief Nursing Officer Wendy Tirop said that digitising the ante-natal booklet makes it easy for health practitioners in other facilities to trace the records of the mother in case the mother visits a different facility.

She says that while the booklet has critical information that documents the mother’s health, the baby’s immunisation records until the age of five as well as family planning records, cases of pages being torn, or booklets getting lost are rampant.

Kabarak University Vice Chancellor Henry Kiplagat said involving students in critical research and solutions-based projects enriches training and prepares them for the demanding market.

“A project like Mama’s Hub is key in linking students and professionals in the field to boost their practical skills. We want students ready who can solve the current challenges in different sectors. We want them to have entrepreneurial skills and be able to be independent,” Professor Kiplagat said.