Information and Communication Technologies, Prenatal Care Services, and Neonatal Health

We evaluate the effectiveness of sending text messages to pregnant women containing prenatal care visit reminders, suggestions for healthy eating behaviors, and encouragements regarding vitamin intake during pregnancy. Our focus is on disadvantaged women living in the district of Ventanilla, Peru, with average per capita incomes equivalent to 1.8 times the poverty line. Our intervention increased the likelihood of full prenatal care attendance by 9 percentage points (19.6% with respect to the control group mean). Intervened women also reported slightly improved eating habits during pregnancy. However, we find no overall effects on vitamin intake compliance or birth outcomes. When exploring differential effects with respect to baseline educational attainment of mothers, no heterogeneity was found in terms of prenatal care attendance or eating habits. However, among women with complete secondary education, we find that the intervention also boosted vitamin intake compliance and improved newborn health as measured by the APGAR score.