In India’s rural areas, where access to healthcare is sometimes limited, maternal health remains a key concern. We at Savemom set out to address this issue with a simple yet effective concept: A smart wristband that allows pregnant women’s health to be remotely monitored. However, when we noticed that men were wearing wristbands rather than their wives, our journey took an unexpected turn.
As a result, we created a ground-breaking invention based on tradition, culture, and extensive human knowledge.
The Unexpected Challenge
Allowear, our first smart wearable, was designed to monitor vital indications such as Heart rate, Sleep patterns, and Activity levels and offer critical information to healthcare providers. Although it was well received in cities, males in villages wore the bracelets themselves, creating an unanticipated barrier to acceptance in rural areas.
We initially suspected an issue with our statistics because one individual apparently walked 85,000 steps per day and another had a constantly increased heart rate. However, after interacting with the communities, it became clear that pregnant women were deprived of technology designed just for them since men saw the flashy wearables as a status symbol and stole them.
The Cultural Shift That Changed Everything
We realised that technology must be connected with the culture and values of the people it serves; it cannot be used alone.
In many rural areas, Adivasi women wear traditional rudraksha bead bracelets, which are spiritually associated with Lord Shiva. This inspired us to redesign Allowear to resemble prayer beads, a popular and culturally significant accessory.
This tiny yet effective change had a significant impact. As more women wore the wristbands, the accuracy of our data collection increased. Improved maternal health monitoring resulted in a 38% rise in average birth weight for newborns in one Wayanad neighbourhood.
Bridging the Healthcare Gap with Smart Wearables
There are various barriers to maternal health in rural India:
- Limited availability of medical professionals.
- Disbelief in contemporary medicine.
- The societal stigma of home births and miscarriages
Our smart wearable is more than a gadget; it’s a bridge between tradition and technology. The bracelet’s real-time data transmission to physicians, non-governmental organisations, and health workers enables better prenatal care and timely treatments.
Despite this improvement, challenges remain. Because the gadget is not water resistant, several women forget to wear it or discard it. Our current goal is to grow our solution across the country while improving usability and lifespan.
Savemom Featured in Rest of World – A Global Recognition
We are honoured to have been included in Rest of World, which recognises our efforts to improve rural maternal healthcare by mixing technology and tradition. This recognition reaffirms our confidence in human-centered innovation and the value of cultural sensitivity in technological solutions. It propels our aim to provide cheap, accessible maternal care to millions of women in India and abroad.
Join Us in Transforming Maternal Healthcare
At Savemom, we think that creative solutions grounded in cultural sensitivity could actually make a difference. One smart bracelet at a time, we are improving healthcare for rural women by fusing technology and tradition.
Would you like to participate in this change?
- Raising awareness will help us accomplish our goal.
- Follow our journey to stay informed.
We can work together to make parenting safer for millions of Indian women
Read the full Rest of World article here.