HWDI presented the results of Phases 1 and 2 of the Maternal Health Pilot Study in Cochi at the 2017 meeting of the European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL) during a special session on Science Literacy. In addition, Rob Davies also presented information about the SL Landscape Survey which he and Carol Priestley of NIDA completed early this year. Please look at our presentation. A more comprehensive report will be provided in the near future.

Download presentation (pdf, 7mb)

Birth Village http://www.birthvillage.in/ south India's first natural birthing centre has created a local NGO - Birth for Change (BfC) - providing a variety of services to the women and girls living in the slum colonies of Kochi. BfC contacted Network for Information and Digital Access (NIDA), for assistance with a pilot project specifically addressing maternal health problems in this community.

First there will be an impact assessment process testing the results of a programme of health education interventions, based upon specific questions relating to menstruation, diet, drugs and alcohol (foetal alcohol syndrome). Additional questions, up to a maximum of 6, will be added as the project progresses and we measure the level of participation.

Second, we will assess the effectiveness of a variety of interventions, including inducements in the form of healthy food and dietary supplements as well as group education sessions in a health clinic within the Udaya slum.

Third, there will be an oral questionnaire on general matters pertaining to maternal health given to a random group before the interventions and again at the end of the project. It is anticipated that there will be a minimum of 10% participation allowing for a representative sampling of the population.

The project is being carried out as a partnership between Birth for Change (BfC) and NIDA. BfC will deliver the educational interventions and monitor their impact. The pilot is co-funded by Hardie Wren Development Initiatives (HWDI).