Smart Discharges for Mom+Baby: Saving mother-newborn dyads by developing a predictive risk model to identify vulnerable dyads and guide delivery of post-discharge care

The risk of a mother or baby dying is highest in the first six weeks after birth. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends regular follow-up visits for all mothers and their newborns. This is not always possible. In resource-constrained countries, a lack of money and nurses at hospitals and limited time and money at home often stops mothers from seeking care. In our study, we will build a score to identify mother-baby pairs that are most at risk of getting sick or dying in Uganda. The health of a mother impacts the health of their baby, and vice versa. Our risk score combines the risk of the mother and baby so that both can get care when they need it. A nurse can use this score to guide the number of follow-up visits recommended for the pair. In this way, mothers and babies at higher risk receive more visits. We will also talk to parents and nurses to determine what stops mothers and babies from receiving a follow-up visit. We will work with our Ugandan partners to remove these barriers so that improvements in care are long-lasting. In the future, we can use this approach to improve the health of mothers and babies in smaller, remote towns in BC, where specialized care for mothers and babies is not always readily available.