A software tool that interprets risks involved in pregnancy and its severity has been made available by a team from the Indian Institute of Management Bengaluru, that studied risks among expectant mothers.
Symptoms ‘normalised’
The team, as part of the ‘Gender and Health Equity’ (GHE) project, found that socially disadvantaged sections ignored anaemia and swollen feet, which is common during pregnancy.
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Surprisingly, field workers monitoring the health of expectant mothers also tend to perceive it as normal, the study revealed.
V. Srinidhi, an MBBS graduate at IIMB who is also part of the team that developed the software tool, said they came across the problem of “normalising” symptoms of maternal risks [to consider swelling, hypertension or anaemia as normal].
“While there has been focus on delivery, the progress in the nine months of pregnancy is often left out,” Dr. Srinidhi said.
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Under the system, field workers collect and enter data on symptoms, signs and test results. The software will interpret the risk and its severity and generate reports.
What next?
With the project nearing completion, the team that mooted the software tool is exploring the option of having the State government use it to benefit the field workers, such as Accredited Social Health Activists, to improve the quality of symptom detection and diagnosis.
Ready in six months
The project is expected to take final shape within six months.
They have also brought out a handbook for health providers which include a list of risk factors, case studies and self-review exercises.