Known locally as Nurse Mary, the platform is designed to provide pregnant women and new mothers with round-the-clock access to reliable health information through simple text messaging.

The initiative, launched alongside a Regional Helpdesk Service at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, is aimed at bridging information gaps that contribute to preventable maternal and newborn complications.

Mr John Hammond, PROMPTS Programme Manager at Jacaranda Health, said Nurse Mary enabled women to receive timely advice, appointment reminders and emergency guidance without requiring internet access, airtime or a smartphone.

“The prompt works on any mobile phone through SMS, it uses AI to analyse questions sent by pregnant women and mothers, categorise them according to urgency, and provide immediate responses or refer users to the nearest appropriate health facility when emergency care is needed,” he said.

Mr Hammond said the platform sent mothers daily health messages tailored to their stage of pregnancy or the age of their babies.

It also reminded them of antenatal and postnatal appointments and allowed them to ask questions at any time of the day and receive responses free of charge.

“Many mothers simply do not know what action to take or where to seek help when they experience danger signs. PROMPTS provides that information immediately and connects them with the health system before complications become life-threatening,” he said.

Mr Hammond said Jacaranda Health had implemented PROMPTS successfully in Kenya for more than a decade before piloting it in Ghana in 2022.

He said Ghana’s growing digital health ecosystem and policies supporting digital innovation and responsible AI provided an enabling environment for scaling up the intervention.

Dr Robert Amesiya, Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, said the technology was helping health professionals extend quality maternal care beyond health facilities.

“Not every concern a pregnant woman or a new mother experience occurs while she is in the clinic. Many problems arise after she has gone home. This platform allows us to continue supporting mothers wherever they are,” he said.

Dr Amesiya said where emergency care was needed, the platform identified the nearest health facility and coordinated communication between the mother and health workers to facilitate prompt care.

He said the Greater Accra Regional Hospital had enrolled more than 7,000 mothers on the platform, with many reporting positive experiences.

Dr Amesiya cited the case of a pregnant woman whose medication repeatedly caused vomiting until she sought advice through Nurse Mary.

He said following AI-guided instructions on how to take the medication, the woman was able to continue treatment successfully and later received confirmation at her health facility that her condition had improved.

Dr Amesiya said the Nurse Mary platform complemented existing maternal health services and enabled continuous communication between expectant mothers and healthcare providers throughout pregnancy and the postnatal period.