Mothers’ experiences with mHealth intervention for postnatal care utilisation in Nigeria: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background The postnatal period implies a crucial and delicate time for both the mother and the newborn. There is a growing body of evidence that is increasingly pointing to mHealth interventions as a potential tool for improved utilisation of maternal and child health services, including postnatal care. This can promote the health of mother and baby during this delicate period. However, the success of the interventions must be explored to validate their usefulness and reliability. Hence, this study explored the experiences of postpartum women on the usefulness of the mHealth intervention (postnatal care assistant) they received. Methods Twenty women, who were involved in mHealth intervention were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. They were recruited from the intervention group of a quasi-experimental study that evaluated the effect of a mHealth intervention on the uptake of postnatal care services. Thematic analysis of data was done using NVivo software version 10. Results Five major themes emerged from data shared by the participants. They are general feelings about the messages, benefits derived from the messages about pregnancy and hospital delivery, increased knowledge about baby care, facilitation of PNC utilisation and involvement of significant others in decision making. They affirmed that the information and reminder messages gave them the impetus to utilise postnatal care services. Conclusion Mothers reported that mHealth intervention provided immense support and assistance during pregnancy and the reminder messages encouraged them to utilise postnatal care services. This study suggests that improved education and reminder messages via mobile phones are needed during pregnancy and after childbirth to promote mother and child health through the utilization of postnatal care services, and efforts to put this approach to action should be pursued.

Multiple high-risk fertility behaviours and children under five mortality survivors among ever-married women of reproductive age in Nigeria

“…In LMICs, the first 2 years are generally reported to be the most high-risk period for U5M [ 49 ]. A study in Nigeria explored using a mobile health intervention (mHealth), which provides health promotion messaging on users’ mobile phones to promote the uptake and utilisation of postnatal care services [ 50 ]. The initiative is intended to increase women’s and partners’ knowledge about appropriate maternal-child care during the postpartum period [ 50 ].…”

“…A study in Nigeria explored using a mobile health intervention (mHealth), which provides health promotion messaging on users’ mobile phones to promote the uptake and utilisation of postnatal care services [ 50 ]. The initiative is intended to increase women’s and partners’ knowledge about appropriate maternal-child care during the postpartum period [ 50 ]. In this study, almost every participant reported feeling they had increased awareness of postnatal care and the importance of accessing these services for their newborns [ 50 ].…”

“…The initiative is intended to increase women’s and partners’ knowledge about appropriate maternal-child care during the postpartum period [ 50 ]. In this study, almost every participant reported feeling they had increased awareness of postnatal care and the importance of accessing these services for their newborns [ 50 ]. This emphasises the potential of technological applications such as mHealth to drive the uptake of maternal-newborn health services to reduce maternal-child morbidity and mortality.…”