Pre-pregnancy care centre aims at providing digital care through a mobile app to couples aiming to be parents

The Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST),

headquartered in Bengaluru, has come up with an app based technology driven Pre-Conception Care Centre to make quality healthcare accessible to the most in the country to control gestational diabetes.

The Pre-Conception Care Centres have been initialised to maximise preventive care and address various women health issues much earlier in life. These centres will be available through mobile apps wherein women or couple planning for pregnancy can answer few questions thereby assisting the healthcare provider in charting an appropriate healthcare programme.

By answering these questions, 70% of preliminary check is complete through self-analysis and a risk scoring is already done for the mother to be before they step in for examination. Ideations of the Pre-Conception Care Centres are a part of ARTIST’s Vision 2022 to provide accessible quality care across the country through Skill Transfer. Main aim is to bridge the gap between demand for awareness on health issues affecting women and the supply of quality healthcare.

Focussing on Diabetes in Pregnancy, Chairperson of ARTIST Dr Hema Divakar said, “With massive changes in food habits and sedentary lifestyle, incidents of diabetes in pregnancy are on the rise, with about 4-5 million pregnant women getting affected every year, the risk of passing on the diseases to the unborn child is also proportionately rising.”

“That is the crux of these NCD or Non Communicable Diseases. They are transmitted from one generation to the next, from mother to child. If the child’s lifestyle is not maintained then the disease will stay for the rest of their life. Almost all such diseases can be prevented with right approach to life,” she added.

A patient can access the healthcare provider at any time of the day, be it informing them real time as to what the values of blood sugar are, or check with the doctor on certain symptoms the would be mother is experiencing, all of it can happen at her doorstep.

There are about 20% of cases where the patient should be present physically for examination, but for the other 80% of the cases all the efforts, anxiety, time, money can be saved if the care is given at their doorsteps. It’s ARTIST’s effort to bring a fine balance between traditional care and digital care to bring the best possible combination and benefit to the community at a large.

The next step in this line is to take the ABCDE for the generation next. A for Adolescent Anaemia care thereby preventing girls from entering into anaemic pregnancy, B for Building Contraceptive Choices by disseminating information about responsible use of contraception for all young girls. C is for Cervical Cancer, by ensuring vaccination for all adolescents, D for Diabetes and E for Emergency obstetric care.

By: Nitindra Bandyopadhyay

Source: http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/