Towards Enhancing Everyday Pregnancy Care: Reflections from Community Stakeholders in South India

Abstract

We need a deeper understanding of the everyday challenges of pregnancy care in lower socio-economic settings in India. This paper reports reflections from three workshops involving multiple stakeholders, conducted as part of a larger project exploring the role of digital technology in enhancing everyday practices of pregnancy care. In particular, this paper only reports our initial engagement with community stakeholders in pregnancy care, including the local public and third-sector network of care-workers. Based on the findings, we present three reflections namely, a) tensions between traditional and everyday care practices versus requirements of modern pregnancy care, b) tensions in coordination between multiple stakeholders in pregnancy care, and c) the role of physical and digital infrastructures in pregnancy care. These reflections are introduced as concerns and highlight opportunities to further inform technology design to enhance everyday care of pregnant women in semi-urban and rural India, and beyond.