From innovation to impact: revolutionizing maternal health through FemTech
What if technology could help better address every mother’s health needs, including those in underserved communities?
Maternal health has stepped into a powerful era, one where technology can meet compassion, and innovation can meet equity.
Recently, I attended FIGO’s webinar titled “From innovation to impact: revolutionising maternal health through FemTech”, where colleagues across the globe shared promising advances reshaping maternal health, before, during, and after pregnancy.
As a female medical doctor, scientist and health tech innovator, I could not help but imagine what it would be like if today’s digital tools could be more women-centred (without excluding men, of course) and help complement in-person care. From childhood, adolescence, to menopause, from preventive care, health promotion, diagnosis, to treatment?
💡 Pr. Moshe Hod highlighted FIGO’s work, the Fem Tech Initiative and commitment to improve pregnancy outcomes through innovation.
💡 Pr. Aris Papageorghiou shared the potential of life-saving AI-assisted scanning and screening tools to detect pregnancy complications early.
💡 Pr. Hema Divakar, shared how blood pressure and glucose monitoring initiatives combined with teleconsultations and mental health support help improve pregnancy outcomes.
💡 Pr. Nir Melamed pointed out tech innovations to improve the prediction of spontaneous preterm birth, assessing characteristics of the cervical gland area.
💡 Pr. Vincenzo Berghella shared progress in novel cerclage and pre-term birth prevention.
💡 Pr. Ernesto Castelazo Morales excellently moderated the panel and provided high-level technical recommendations on how to improve maternal health through technology.
Sincere gratitude to FIGO’s President, Dr. Anne Beatrice Kihara, whose visionary leadership inspired the creation of FIGO’s Women’s Health and Technology Working Group, and continues to drive broader advancements across the organization. I look forward to the opportunity to support her vision and work.
Personal reflection: These conversations go beyond devices. They spotlight solutions that are useful, low-cost, and easily accessible to all. As we highlight healthtech and fem tech solutions, we cannot forget the woman behind every scan, who has a life before and after pregnancy. Our solutions must honor both, leave no woman and newborn behind, and ensure equitable access for all.
As a FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) Social Ambassador, I remain committed to improving women's health and rights and reducing disparities in healthcare available to women and newborns, as well as to advancing science and practice.
As a faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Center for Global Digital Health Innovation, I continue to work on generating scholarly evidence and developing innovations in digital health and fem tech.
As the Founder of DOTOH Health, I remain committed to caring for our patients, building the future of digital health and fem tech in Africa and USA, for everyone, everywhere.
🧡 Learn more about my work at DOTOH: https://dotoh.org
🧡 Learn more about my work at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/4942/marlene-joannie-bewa
🧡 Learn more about FIGO: https://figo.org
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