Use of the mobile app to track pregnancy in Baglung, one of the country's remoter districts, is probably a first for the country.
The technology has been brought into use in the district to track pregnancies once a gap in menstruation is reported, and to ensure timely checkups and taking of proper medicines during pregnancy.
"Tracking of pregnancy with the mobile app starts once information about a break in menstruation is incorporated into the app," said Pushpa Shrestha, a Female Community Health Volunteer (FCHV) in Baglung Bazaar. "We assemble information about the last dates of menstruation, names and addresses of the women."
Based on this basic information after it is filed, the app sends out messages to local FCHVs concerning timely checkups, medicines such as iron tablets and vitamins, and the like. The FCHVs then visit the homes of the pregnant women to instruct them on do's and don´ts during pregnancy.
The mobile app has been used in four VDCs in the district as a pilot project, according to District Health Office (DHO), Baglung. If the pilot project is a success, use of the mobile app for tracking pregnancies will be extended to 59 VDCs and one municipality.
"We have already provided mobile phones with the app to 950 FCHVs in the district," Senior Public Health Administrator Maheshwor Shrestha said. "The mobile software is tracking every pregnant woman."
Following registration of a name in the mobile software, it generates the symbol numbers for the respective pregnant women. On the basis of the number, the software automatically disseminates information about the woman's care status, including checkups and medicine intake from the start of pregnancy to 28 days after delivery, according to Shrestha.
"The status of every pregnant woman along with regular checkups is sent through messages to the FCHVs," he added. Upon receiving the messages, the FCHVs visit the pregnant women door to door.
Nepali is used in the mobile app so that women can understand it easily. Integration of the new mobile software into pregnancy care is being carried out as part of a more effective community-based care program for the newborn. The software helps exchange information during pregnancy, keep accurate records and manage the information.
District Public Health Office (DPHO) Baglung has brought the mobile app into use with support from One Heart World-Wide (OHWW).
Surya Bhatta, program director at OHWW, said that the mobile software will be useful in minimizing risks during pregnancy as health workers can provide timely treatment services to the pregnant, based on the tracking system.
The information recorded into the mobile software is stored at the DPHO and the central office of OHWW, which can then send messages and information to the local FCHVs.
The use of the mobile app is expected to help save the lives of pregnant women, new mothers and the newborn.
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