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The anticipation of having a baby is often clouded with uncertainty for Africa’s women as well as their families and healthcare providers due to an overwhelming number of pregnancy complications.
According to WHO, annually there are over 2 million stillbirths in the world, over half occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa.
These stillborn deaths are often preventable. Poor access to prenatal care, shortages of qualified health care providers, delayed responses to emergencies, and an inadequate ability to monitor and track pregnancies contribute to making pregnancy one of the most formidable public health challenges in Africa.
PeriGen, a US Company, has developed AI fetal monitors that enable doctors to quickly and accurately assess whether certain conditions, such as fetal asystole, are serious.
AI-powered fetal monitors have greatly improved how Malawi’s hospitals respond to obstetric emergencies. Hospitals in Malawi using PeriGen’s technology have seen 82% fewer newborn deaths than those without.
The system works by constantly examining heart rate and labor data for abnormal activity. If the tool detects any unexpected changes in fetal heart rate activity, it will alert the medical staff of potential problems before they become life-threatening.
In some hospitals, a single nurse may need to monitor the heart rate of multiple patients at once and around the clock. By leaning on AI, however, early warnings that may be the difference between life and death can be heeded.
For physicians and midwives, the application of AI technology in this field does not replace, but augments human care by providing an additional set of ‘eyes’ to assist overwhelmed hospitals and healthcare centers.
The tragedy of stillbirth has been a longstanding, underreported disaster in many parts of Africa. Most stillbirths take place in silence without any medical record or report. The majority of stillbirths occur in rural areas or in facilities that are not well resourced.
