Maternal and Child Health

The Innovative Mobile Technology for Maternal and Child Health Care (i-MoMCARE) project is a digital health intervention aiming to increase the coverage of and access to maternal and child health (MCH) services for pregnant women and their babies in rural communities in Cambodia. We will fully adopt an innovative model (ImTeCHO) developed, successfully implemented, and evaluated by Society for Education, Welfare and Action-Rural (SEWA Rural) in Gujarat, India. This study will take advantage of Cambodia's well-structured healthcare system, increased internet coverage, and the sharp rise in smartphone adoption to implement innovative mobile technology intervention. i-MoMCARE will provide village health support groups (VHSGs) access and training in mobile-based job aid (mobile apps) to facilitate their work with pregnant women and mothers in the villages. Using mobile apps, VHSGs can register pregnant women and mothers, (re)schedule health care appointments, develop a digital record of the medical history of pregnant women and mothers, show educational videos to pregnant women and mothers, and alert health center staff on high-risk cases. i-MoMCARE will also offer health center staff access to the web interface where they can do longitudinal tracking of VHSGs' log-in rate, track the medical history of patients, and screen for complications and referrals. In Cambodia, long distances to health facilities and inadequate education for women of reproductive age are among the determinants of poor health outcomes, predominantly in rural communities, where the demand for MCH services is high. VHSGs could help overcome the long distance to health facilities with mobile technology. i-MoMCARE could also improve women's understanding of the importance of regular antenatal and postnatal utilization and vaccination and, by extension, reduce high-risk cases and maternal and child deaths. This study is the first to be implemented in Cambodia, contributing to the use of digital health in MCH interventions, which remain in their infancy.

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the implementation and impact of a comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEmONC) program on maternal and perinatal health services and outcomes in Malawi. The study will include health facilities providing delivery care in Lilongwe and Blantyre districts, healthcare providers, and selected clients. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does implementation of the program improve health facility readiness, availability and quality of CEmONC services, and maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response (MPDSR)? 2. Are improvements in facility readiness associated with changes in maternal and perinatal health outcomes over time? Participants and facilities will: * Participate in health facility assessments at baseline, midline, and endline. * Provide routine facility registers and records for retrospective abstraction of pregnancy outcomes, obstetric complications, and maternal and perinatal deaths. * Participate in interviews to describe provider training, clinical practices, and experiences with maternal and newborn care and MPDSR implementation.

Brief Summary: Improving Maternal and Child Health via Indigenous Structures The goal of this cluster randomized controlled community trial is to assess the effect of community-based interventions using indigenous community structures on the improvement of health and nutritional status in pregnant women (recruited before 16 weeks of gestation) and their children in Northwest Ethiopia. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does a community-based intervention using indigenous structures significantly improve the uptake of maternal health services (ANC, delivery, and PNC)? * Does the intervention effectively reduce the prevalence of maternal depression during the pregnancy and postpartum periods? * To what extent does the intervention improve the nutritional status (reducing thinness and stunting) of mothers and their children? Researchers will compare a group of women receiving counseling from trained indigenous social support groups to a control group receiving only the routine health and nutrition education provided by the standard healthcare system to see if the indigenous approach leads to better health and nutritional outcomes. Participants will: * Receive four counseling sessions during pregnancy (starting before 16 weeks of gestation) and four additional sessions during the lactation period, conducted in their homes by trained social support groups. * Receive educational leaflets containing core health and nutrition messages and appropriate pictures. * Participate in two rounds of surveys (baseline, and endline) involving interviewer-administered questionnaires. * Undergo physical measurements, specifically mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), to assess nutritional status.

The goal of this observational study is to examine how urban slum food environments influence caregivers' feeding practices for children under five years of age in Pune. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What are the characteristics of the food environment in selected slums of Pune using the 5 A's framework: availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability, and accommodation? * What are caregivers' perceptions of food safety, food prestige, and convenience as additional drivers of food choice within the slum context? * Are caregivers' aware, and have understanding about the use of packaged food labels, especially in relation to identifying foods for young children? * How do the local food environment and food choice (FEFC) drivers interact to influence caregivers' feeding practices, with a particular focus on the consumption of unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages among children under five years of age? Participants will be interviewed using digital forms to assess their food environment and food choice drivers. Anthropometric measurements of all children under five years of age in the household will be taken.