Effects of mobile phone-base teleconsultation on iron status and diet quality of pregnant women availing antenatal care at phebe and Charles B. Dunbar hospitals, bong county, monrovia-liberia a cluster randomized control trial

INTERVENTION: Standard or Routine antenatal care Mobile phone based teleconsultation by means of SMS and phone call CONDITION: Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine Pregnancy and Childbirth ; Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine ; Pregnancy and Childbirth PRIMARY OUTCOME: The control intervention will consist of routine/standard antenatal care services. ; The experimental intervention will consist of mobile phone calls and short messages ; services (SMS). The primary outcome will be the difference in the average iron status ; (measured as hemoglobin) between the control group and the intervention group. The ; indicator for measuring iron status in this study will be hemoglobin measured in g/dl. The ; cutoff point for normal hemoglobin in pregnancy is >12g/dl. Anemia is considered as; hemoglobin level <11g/dl. SECONDARY OUTCOME: The secondary outcomes will include the prevalence of malaria ; infection in the control group and the intervention group, the difference in hygiene and ; health practice between the control group and the intervention group, and the prevalence ; of pregnant women consuming at least one or more iron‐rich food in the control and ; intervention groups. The time, methods, and frequency of handwashing will be used to ; evaluate hygiene practices. Malaria Smear or the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) will be used ; to determine the presence or absence of malaria infection. The Food Frequency ; 66 ; Questionnaires will be used to evaluate dietary practices among pregnant women in the ; control group and those also in the intervention group. INCLUSION CRITERIA: In a cluster randomized control trial, the eligibility criteria will be applied to the hospitals and the individual level of analysis. Hospitals with the highest antenatal care attendance, equip medical and laboratory facilities and more screening facilities for ANC will be selected for this study. Phebe and the Charles B. Dunbar hospitals are two centrally referral hospitals located in Liberia with a high level of ANC attendance. These two hospitals will be selected because they provide all the minimum recommended ANC services (drugs availability, laboratory standard, and so on). At the individual level, pregnant women availing ANC for the first time at the selected hospitals will be the sample population. Additionally, Pregnant women with no chronic medical problems, those accessible via mobile phone, and those who are willing to sign the consent form will be eligible for this study. A total of 147 pregnant women will take p