Overview
The purpose of this study is to evaluate a text message intervention called Essential Coaching for Every Mother in Tanzania to improve mothers' access to essential newborn care information during the immediate six-week postnatal period.
Description
This is a 2-group parallel arm randomized controlled trial. Participants will be randomized into either the intervention or a control group. No changes to in-person care will occur.
This study will be conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with mothers recruited from a Tanzanian postnatal ward who have recently given birth at four different hospitals. Participants in the intervention group will start receiving the Essential Coaching for Every Mother program based on their delivery date up to six weeks postpartum. Mothers in the control group will not receive any text messages. Both groups will be asked to complete an survey at enrolment and six-weeks postpartum.
The investigators aim to recruitment 180 participants in total, 90 per group.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- have recently given birth within the hospital within 48 hours
- have daily access to a mobile phone with text message capabilities
- are over 18 years of age
- speak and read English or Swahili.
Exclusion Criteria:
- newborns die or are expected to die prior to leaving the hospital
- they have no access to mobile phone, either personal or shared
- unwilling to receive text messages
- decline to participate
- are experiencing major postnatal complications expected to impact learning or ability to consent while in the hospital (e.g., postpartum hemorrhage, seizures)
- participated in Phase I of this project.