Background: The vast majority of women in India receive inadequate perinatal care. With growing access to mobile phones, the potential of cellular devices to empower women to seek antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care must be explored. Here, the research team aimed to investigate patterns of mobile phone use and the role of mobile phone access in facilitating connection to care during the perinatal period among women of reproductive age in India.

Research Question: How do mobile phone access and short message service (SMS) literacy impact perinatal care achievement for women aged 15 to 49 living in India?

Mentors: Alison El Ayadi, ScD, MPH, Nadia Diamond-Smith, PhD, MS