At the 50th anniversary of KOGS, doctors confronted a national shame: 355 women die for every 100,000 births in Kenya. But a new wave of AI-driven innovation offers a glimmer of hope.

It is a statistic that should haunt every policymaker: 355. That is the number of Kenyan women who die for every 100,000 live births—a mortality rate that remains stubbornly high despite decades of investment. This weekend, at the Kenya Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society (KOGS) conference in Mombasa, the medical fraternity stopped celebrating history to confront this grim present.

The "Three Delays" were identified as the primary culprits: delay in seeking care, delay in reaching facilities, and delay in receiving treatment. However, the conference wasn't just a lament; it was a showcase of futuristic solutions. Experts unveiled how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digitized records are finally bridging these deadly gaps.

The AI Intervention: "Mama's Hub"

Innovations like "Mama's Hub" are changing the game. By using wearable tech to monitor vital signs and AI algorithms to predict complications like Postpartum Haemorrhage (PPH) and Pre-eclampsia before they become fatal, doctors can now intervene *before* the emergency starts. This shift from "reactive" to "proactive" care is the moonshot Kenya has been waiting for.

“We have the data, and we know why mothers are dying,” said Dr. Patrick Amoth, Director General for Health. “Now we have the tools to stop it. The question is no longer about capacity, but will.”

Systemic Gaps Remain

Yet, technology cannot fix everything. The conference highlighted that without basic blood supplies and functional ambulances, even the best AI cannot save a bleeding mother. The call to action was clear: integrate the new tech, but fix the broken basics.

• The Crisis: 355 deaths per 100,000 live births.
• The Killer: Postpartum Haemorrhage (excessive bleeding).
• The Hope: AI monitoring and digitized health records.

As the delegates left Mombasa, the consensus was fragile but real: Kenya has the innovation to save its mothers.It just needs the system to support it.