‘Now caring of pregnant women through the use of mobile’

Ratnanagar (Chitwan), Feb 8: Any woman who is pregnant can now register herself online and then get audio, video and text content in a periodic manner in order to help herself with the pregnancy period including with information about the change in her body and safe pregnancy.

For this, a pregnant woman must register her name and address along with last menstruation date at www.amakomaya.com. This can also be done at nearby Health Centre where the service is now made available. Once registered using her unique username and password, a pregnant women will start to get audio, video and text content in her profile in a periodical manner. She will receive first content between 12 weeks of pregnancy. Then after till 28 weeks she will receive content in every 2 weeks. After 28 weeks the content is focused on the family member of pregnant women. So it needs to be listened together with family members over her mobile devices.

The amakomaya.com is an easy and handy web-application designed and developed to support the pregnant women at the pregnancy period by providing the information about the change in her body during pregnancy period and safe pregnancy related information by the use of internet and mobile technology. Amakomaya.com aims to inform and empower low-income, expectant mothers during her pregnancy and child delivery period as well as care during her pregnancy period and focuses the health of maternal, newborn and child health.
Similarly, after receiving the every new message regarding the pregnancy, the women have to go to ‘question answer’ page and log on ‘our question your answer page’ and go to the ‘any question to doctor’ page and write any questions regarding the pregnancy.
There is also complete visual clip and women health volunteers reach to the house of pregnant women and play the clip, the narration of which has been customized in Nepali language.
This technology was brought into use by the Jhuwani Community Library at Bichhauli, Chitwan. The pregnant women get information through the ‘Aamakomaya’ mobile phone application.
A pregnant woman can get this facility at her home if she has internet facility otherwise she has to visit the nearby information centre or health centre for the same. From this technology, every pregnant woman gets all the information about the fetus and physical as well as mental changes developed during the pregnancy.
The technology was invented by computer engineer Rajendra Poudel and it is being implemented at different parts of the Chitwan, Kathmandu, Makwanpur, Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts.
In Bachhauli, nine women health volunteers are provided with mobile phones along with internet facility to ease the use of the technology. The health volunteers reach to the house of pregnant women to know their health condition and send it to the control room from their mobile phone. Information is sent to the pregnant women about the health condition of women and fetus through the volunteers. The pregnant women are informed through the same technology to visit the health centre soon if some problems are seen.
Archana Rimal, a woman health volunteer, had recently gone to visit one of the beneficiaries of the programme Aarati Mahato at her home when she was 33-weeks pregnant. Archana showed the pictures of the fetus growing inside her womb through a video mobile phone.
Archana told Aarati, “Your baby can hear your voice after two weeks.” Aarati was not aware about every development of her fetus during her first pregnancy but she is now very happy to find a place where she can get all information about her fetus and advise from the health volunteers.
She said, “I receive new information every week. Archana shows me this in here phone too.”
Similarly, Archana had reached to the house of Basanti Mahato who had recently given birth. The library has given responsibility to women health volunteers like Archana to know the condition of newly born babies and expecting mothers.
Archana has the responsibility to look after all the pregnant women of Bachhauli VDC-9. She has been providing information to 24 pregnant women through mobile phone. Of them, 20 women have already given birth. They gave birth at the nearby health centres.
The women volunteers send information to the main server about the pregnant women of their working area from their mobile phone.
Library Chairman Keshav Raj Acharya said, “The information is sent to the centre. The women are advised to visit the hospital if some problems are seen regarding their pregnancy.”
Details of 94 pregnant women of Bachhauli have been recorded under this campaign.
A local social worker Min Prasad Sapkota said, “Maternal mortality and infant mortality rate will be decreased if the technology is used across the country.” He further said that the government should pay attention in this regard.

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(By Narayan Dhungana)