Mobile Health (mHealth) Across Maternity Care Continuum

Maternity care continuum represents a critical period in a woman's life, characterized by unique healthcare needs and the potential for significant health risks. Right from the earliest stages of preconception and family planning through the pregnancy experiences and the critical postpartum period, upholding optimal maternal health status is of paramount importance. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies have emerged as transformative tools in improving maternal healthcare delivery globally. Recognizing the enormous potential of mHealth, this chapter explores the multifaceted role of mHealth in preconception, prenatal, labor, delivery, postpartum, and early parenting care. Through an extensive examination of current literature, this chapter highlights the myriad benefits offered by mHealth technologies across the maternal and child healthcare continuum. The evidence from existing literature as amplified in this chapter indicate that mHealth interventions play a crucial role in supporting pain management, relaxation strategies, facilitating decision-making, tracking maternal and fetal health, providing postpartum education and support, breastfeeding assistance, maternal well-being enhancement, infant health promotion, mental health support, and parental guidance. The prevailing evidence on mHealth signal the need for further research to evaluate the long-term effects, cost-effectiveness, and scalability of mHealth interventions in diverse healthcare settings, especially in low- and middle-income regions of the global community. Moreover, ethical considerations and barriers must be addressed to ensure successful integration into routine or traditional models of care. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the importance of continued investment in mHealth technologies to realize their full potential in advancing maternal and child healthcare outcomes.