The future of predictive maternal healthcare: trustworthy data, robust public health teams can help save lives

In India, the gap between a mother and safe care is often measured in hours: a delayed referral, a missed antenatal visit, a danger sign that no one caught in time. The country has cut maternal and newborn deaths sharply over the past decade; yet the burden that remains is among the largest in the world. It is in exactly that gap, between an early warning and a late response, that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now being asked to help. Its most useful contribution will likely be far more ordinary than the futuristic promises suggest: noticing trouble a little earlier, while there is still time to act.