 Internet use for pregnancy-related information and its correlates among women attending antenatal care in Mogadishu, SomaliaMohamed Mustaf Ahmed, Luul Mohamed Ibrahim, Roodo Abdullahi Elmi, Zhinya Kawa Othman, Francesco Branda, Olalekan John Okesanya, Uthman Okikiola Adebayo, Shuaibu Saidu Musa, Abdullahi Hassan Elmi, Abdirasak Sharif Ali and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno PLOS Digital Health, 2026, vol. 5, issue 7, 1-19 Abstract: Somalia faces persistent gaps in maternal health services, while digital connectivity is expanding rapidly, positioning online platforms as potential complements to antenatal counselling. This study assessed how often pregnant women attending antenatal care in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, use the internet for pregnancy-related information and examined the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with that behaviour. We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study at six antenatal clinics in Mogadishu from February to May 2025, in which eligible literate pregnant women completed a structured, self-administered questionnaire, and we used multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with internet use. Among the 422 participants, 78.2% reported using the internet to obtain pregnancy-related information during the current pregnancy. Daily use predominated, social media was the primary means of access, and seeking support was the most frequently reported reason. Commonly searched topics included diet during pregnancy, fetal development, and infant feeding. Higher monthly income, being in the third trimester, and reporting a current pregnancy-related health problem were each associated with greater odds of internet use, whereas age, education, employment, number of previous pregnancies, number of living children, and reported fetal sex were not. Among these literate women attending antenatal care in Mogadishu, the internet, mainly through social media, is already a common source of pregnancy-related information, embedded in their everyday information practices. Integrating trustworthy Somali-language content and clinician-linked channels into antenatal care therefore warrants prospective evaluation, alongside attention to digital literacy, exposure to misinformation, privacy, and maternal and newborn outcomes. Because the study was cross-sectional and clinic-based, the findings describe associations rather than causation and should not be generalized to all pregnant women in Mogadishu.Author summary: Pregnant women increasingly turn to the internet to answer everyday questions about pregnancy; however, we know little about how women in Somalia do this. Somalia has some of the world’s highest maternal death rates, and at the same time, internet and social media use is growing quickly. Therefore, it is important to determine whether women are using online tools to fill the gaps in the care they receive. We surveyed 422 pregnant women who attended six antenatal clinics in Mogadishu between February and May 2025. We found that roughly four in five women had used the internet for pregnancy information during their current pregnancy, most of them daily, and social media was the most common source. Women most often looked for information on diet, baby development, and infant feeding. Women with higher incomes, those further along in their pregnancy, and those with current health concerns were more likely to search online. Our findings suggest that trustworthy Somali-language information should be incorporated into routine antenatal care. Date: 2026 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pdig00:0001590 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0001590 Access Statistics for this article More articles in PLOS Digital Health from Public Library of Science |
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