Mobile Messaging for Maternal and Neonatal Health: Research Findings and AI Pathways Forward

This panel highlights learnings from developing and implementing mobile messaging services for women and families during the antenatal and postnatal period drawing. The four examples include Essential Coaching for Every Mother, Jacaranda Health's PROMPTS, Reach Digital Health's MomConnect, and Noora Health's mobile Care Companion Program. Impact evaluation evidence is shared across all services highlighting where services improved behaviors or health outcomes, and where services fell short. This panel highlights the potential and limitations of digital health platforms for behavior change, and what's needed to close the gap between intention and action. Additionally, this panel highlights practical lessons from using AI in health and scaling services to additional geographic contexts. Our session focuses on practical lessons for others using AI in health: how to balance automation with human oversight, how to build trust in new tools, and what it takes to move from a promising idea to a real, working system.