Mums-to-be to get help via mobiles

The Liga Inan or ‘Mobile Mums’ project was the brainchild of David Roach, Anders Hofstee and Barry Patterson, with the goal to increase the quality of skilled care for expectant mothers before, during and after delivery.

The project allows midwives to use mobile phone technology to register expectant mothers, track their progress, know when they go into labour and make arrangements to attend the delivery.

Mr Roach said close to 70 per cent of the population had access to a mobile phone in the south-east Asian country of Timor-Leste.

‘The reason behind the project is that the majority of women in Timor-Leste live in remote and rural areas which make it challenging for them to access health facilities and midwives,’ he said.