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In response to the maternal health crisis in Kenya, university students are developing a groundbreaking technology called Mama’s Hub, which incorporates AI to reduce maternal mortality.

The system allows healthcare professionals to remotely monitor pregnant women and their unborn babies without requiring in-person hospital visits. This is particularly critical in rural areas where access to healthcare facilities is limited.

Mama’s Hub works through a smartwatch worn by expectant mothers, which tracks vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. The data is then transmitted to a mobile application connected to a cloud-based database. Healthcare workers can access this data in real time, providing timely intervention if abnormalities are detected.

David Saruni, a computer science student at Kabarak University, is one of the key developers of Mama’s Hub. He explains the motivation behind the project: “The project objective is to prevent the onset of pre-eclampsia, which may cause death to mothers and even infants after their delivery,” Saruni said. “So, this project is going to save lives.”

AI plays a crucial role in the Mama’s Hub platform by enhancing the diagnostic and decision-making process. Through AI-enabled algorithms, the system can detect early warning signs of pregnancy-related complications such as gestational diabetes and hypertension.

These conditions, if not caught early, can lead to severe complications or even death. The system’s chatbot feature is also being developed to provide automated prescription services, reducing the need for routine hospital visits and streamlining the care process.

Moses Thiga, the principal investigator of the Mama’s Hub project, explains how AI improves the accuracy and timeliness of maternal care:

“If the onset of the condition is detected before 20 weeks, then there are interventions that can be instituted. The same case with others like gestation or diabetes. All this boils down to timely and accurate information about the mother.”

The National Research Fund-supported technology also enables digitization of the prenatal care records of patients for easier access. It has been tested in prenatal clinics in the Rift Valley city of Nakuru, with the aim of rolling out to the rest of the country.

Nakuru County chief nursing officer Wendy Tirop said the digitization has improved record tracing.

“It makes it very [easy] for the health care provider to be able to trace and identify mothers who have failed to come to the clinic and do a follow-up,” Tirop said.

The project has already been piloted in the Rift Valley region, where it has shown promising results in improving the monitoring of pregnant women.

Women in this region often face long travel distances to access care, which delays crucial prenatal check-ups and increases the risk of complications. With Mama’s Hub, healthcare workers can monitor patients remotely, allowing for earlier detection and intervention without requiring the mother to travel to a health facility.

Wendy Tirop, Nakuru County’s Chief Nursing Officer, highlights how digitization has enhanced their ability to track patients who miss appointments. “It has made it much easier to identify mothers who have not attended clinic visits, enabling us to follow up and provide necessary care,” she explains.

The success of Mama’s Hub could pave the way for a larger rollout of AI-based maternal healthcare solutions in Kenya and other African nations.

Supported by the National Research Fund, the technology is expected to expand to more regions across the country, offering a scalable solution to the maternal mortality crisis. The digitization of healthcare records also ensures that patient data is easily accessible and can be used to improve decision-making in maternal care.

Experts believe that integrating AI into maternal health could significantly reduce Kenya’s maternal mortality rate by ensuring timely, accurate, and personalized care.

Maternal mortality remains a significant challenge in Kenya, with over 6,000 women losing their lives each year due to inadequate access to quality maternal healthcare.

Despite global efforts to reduce maternal deaths, sub-Saharan Africa continues to experience disproportionately high mortality rates.

In Kenya, innovative solutions are emerging to address this critical issue, and artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of the transformation. One such solution is the Mama’s Hub project, an AI-powered technology designed to improve maternal health outcomes.

Maternal mortality in Kenya is a persistent issue, exacerbated by factors such as limited access to healthcare, inadequate prenatal monitoring, and poor infrastructure, especially in rural areas.