Maternal Health Predictor Using Machine Learning

Abstract
Maternal health remains a significant global challenge, demanding effective predictive
methodologies to mitigate risks and improve outcomes. This project endeavours to
develop a comprehensive predictive model for assessing maternal health risks through
advanced machine learning techniques. Leveraging Python and scikit-learn, alongside a
diverse array of algorithms, the project focuses on preprocessing maternal health data,
optimizing feature selection, and training models to achieve precise predictions.

Central to our approach is meticulous data preprocessing to ensure data fidelity and
robust feature engineering aimed at refining predictive accuracy. Multiple machine
learning algorithms are explored and fine-tuned, rigorously evaluated against clinical
benchmarks to ascertain efficacy and reliability. The findings highlight the potential of
machine learning in early risk identification, offering pivotal support for timely
healthcare interventions crucial to maternal well-being.

This project underscores the transformative potential of predictive analytics in maternal

healthcare, aiming to empower healthcare providers with actionable insights for proactive
maternal care strategies.

Keywords: Maternal health; Predictive modelling; Machine learning; Python; scikit-

learn; Healthcare interventions.

Introduction
Recent advancements in predictive analytics have transformed healthcare, particularly in
maternal health, where timely risk assessment plays a crucial role in improving outcomes
and reducing mortality rates. This project aims to develop a robust predictive model to
assess the risk levels of maternal health conditions using a dataset comprising vital health
indicators.

Maternal health remains a global priority, demanding effective tools for early risk
identification and personalized healthcare management. The dataset utilized in this
project includes comprehensive records of maternal health indicators such as age, blood
pressure, blood sugar levels, body temperature, and heart rate. These indicators serve as
critical inputs for developing an accurate predictive model.

By leveraging machine learning algorithms implemented through Python and scikit-learn,

this project focuses on rigorous data preprocessing and feature selection to optimize
predictive accuracy. The objective is to empower healthcare professionals with a reliable
tool capable of classifying maternal health risks and facilitating targeted interventions.

The potential impact of this project is significant, promising advancements in maternal

healthcare through proactive risk assessment and timely interventions. By enhancing the
predictive capabilities in maternal health, this initiative aims to contribute to improved
health outcomes and enhanced maternal well-being.

Problem Statement
The primary focus of this project is to predict maternal health risks by leveraging various
health indicators. Accurate prediction plays a pivotal role in enabling early intervention
strategies, thereby enhancing health outcomes for mothers.

Maternal health is a critical factor in ensuring the well-being of both mothers and their
children. Predicting health risks before they escalate can mitigate complications and
significantly improve the quality of care provided to expectant mothers.

The methodology employed in this project encompasses several key stages: data
preprocessing, feature selection, model training, and rigorous evaluation. These steps are
crucial in harnessing the power of machine learning algorithms to deliver precise
predictions and actionable insights into maternal health risks.

By systematically processing and analyzing datasets that include essential health metrics
such as age, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, body temperature, and heart rate, this
project aims to develop a robust predictive model. This model will empower healthcare
providers with the capability to identify high-risk pregnancies early on, facilitating timely
interventions tailored to individual maternal health needs.
Ultimately, the objective of this project is to contribute to advancements in maternal
healthcare by equipping healthcare professionals with effective predictive tools. These
tools will not only aid in mitigating risks associated with maternal health but also pave
the way for improved maternal and child health outcomes globally.

Literature Survey
A critical review of existing research related to maternal health risk prediction reveals
significant advancements and challenges in the application of machine learning (ML)
techniques. Several studies have investigated the use of ML models to predict various
maternal health conditions, aiming to enhance early detection and intervention strategies.

Liu et al. (2020) conducted a study employing logistic regression and decision trees to
predict gestational diabetes. Their research demonstrated the effectiveness of these
models in early identification, facilitating timely interventions to manage glucose levels
during pregnancy. However, the study acknowledged limitations in data availability and
the need for robust feature selection to improve predictive accuracy.

Smith et al. (2019) explored the application of support vector machines (SVM) and
neural networks for predicting preeclampsia. Their findings indicated promising results in
accurately forecasting preeclampsia onset based on clinical and demographic factors.
Despite these advancements, challenges related to model interpretability and the
generalizability of findings across diverse populations were noted.

Johnson et al. (2021) utilized random forest and gradient boosting techniques to predict
preterm birth risks. Their research highlighted the importance of integrating
comprehensive maternal health data to enhance prediction accuracy. However, issues
such as data fragmentation and variability in healthcare practices among different regions
posed challenges in model development and validation.

Wang et al. (2018) employed deep learning models, including convolutional neural
networks (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, for fetal health
monitoring. Their study demonstrated improved detection of fetal anomalies using
maternal biomarkers, yet scalability and computational resource requirements remained
significant limitations.

Collectively, these studies underscore the potential of ML in advancing maternal health

risk prediction. They highlight the need for rigorous data management practices, robust
model validation protocols, and interdisciplinary collaborations to overcome existing
limitations and maximize the clinical utility of ML techniques in maternal healthcare.

Architecture Diagram
Proposed System
The Maternal Health Risk Predictor system is designed to provide accurate predictions
for maternal health risks using machine learning algorithms. This section outlines the
various modules, algorithms, tools, and techniques used in the development of the
system.

1. Data Collection Module

The data collection module is responsible for gathering data from multiple sources,
including hospitals, clinics, and health databases. The collected data includes crucial
health parameters of pregnant women such as age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood
pressure, blood sugar levels, body temperature, and heart rate. Ensuring the data is
current, accurate, and comprehensive is vital for the system's effectiveness.

Sources of Data:

 Kaggle

 Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

 Surveys and questionnaires

 Direct measurements from healthcare visits

 Public health databases

2. Data Preprocessing Module

The data preprocessing module handles the cleaning and transformation of raw data to
make it suitable for analysis. This step is crucial to ensure the quality and reliability of
the data used for training the machine learning models.

Steps in Data Preprocessing:

 Data Cleaning: This involves handling missing values, removing

duplicates, and correcting errors in the data.
  Normalization: Scaling numerical features to a standard range, typically 0
to 1, to ensure uniformity.

 Feature Extraction: Identifying and selecting relevant features that

significantly impact maternal health risks.

 Data Transformation: Converting categorical data into numerical format

using techniques such as one-hot encoding.

Tools Used:

 Pandas: For data manipulation and analysis.

 NumPy: For numerical computations.
 Scikit-learn: For preprocessing utilities.

3. Model Training Module

This module involves training different machine learning algorithms on the preprocessed
data to develop models that can accurately predict maternal health risks based on the
input features.

Algorithms Used:

 Logistic Regression: A simple yet effective algorithm for binary

classification problems, predicting the probability of occurrence of an
event.
 Decision Trees: A tree-based model that splits the data based on feature
values, leading to a set of decision rules.
 Random Forest: An ensemble method that builds multiple decision trees
and combines their predictions to improve accuracy and reduce
overfitting.

Training Process:

 Splitting the data into training and test sets.

  Training each algorithm on the training set.

 Tuning hyperparameters to optimize model performance.

 Evaluating model performance using cross-validation.

2. Tools Used:

 Scikit-learn: For implementing and training machine learning algorithms.

 GridSearchCV: For hyperparameter tuning.

3. Model Evaluation Module

4. This module evaluates the performance of the trained models using various
metrics to determine their effectiveness in predicting maternal health risks.
5. Evaluation Metrics:

 Accuracy: The proportion of correctly predicted instances out of the total

instances.

 Precision: The proportion of true positive predictions out of all positive

predictions made.

 Recall: The proportion of true positive predictions out of all actual

positive instances.

 F1-score: The harmonic mean of precision and recall, providing a balance

between the two.

6. Tools Used:

 Scikit-learn: For model evaluation utilities.

 Matplotlib and Seaborn: For visualizing model performance through

graphs and charts.

7. Deployment Module
 8. The deployment module involves integrating the best-performing model into a
user-friendly interface using Gradio that healthcare providers can use to predict
maternal health risks in real-time.
9. Deployment Process:

 Creating an interactive web interface using Gradio.

 Implementing the trained model within the Gradio application.

 Ensuring secure and efficient data handling.

 Providing easy-to-understand visualizations and reports for healthcare

providers.

10. Tools Used:

 Gradio: For building the interactive web interface.

 Python: For backend logic and integration.

 Jupyter Notebook: For developing and testing the machine learning

models.

Results and Discussions

The results indicate that the RandomForest model achieved the highest accuracy in
predicting maternal health risks. The findings are presented using tables, graphs, and
charts to provide a comprehensive view of the model performances and their comparative
analysis.

Model Performance

The effectiveness of the selected algorithms in predicting maternal health risks is

demonstrated by their respective performance metrics. The evaluation was performed
using stratified K-fold cross-validation to ensure robust and reliable results. The table
below summarizes the evaluation results for each model:
Model Accuracy F1 Score Precision Recall
RandomForest 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.86
LogisticRegression 0.62 0.60 0.60 0.62
KNeighbors 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69
SVC 0.70 0.68 0.70 0.70
MLPClassifier 0.67 0.65 0.67 0.67
XGBClassifier 0.85 0.85 0.86 0.85

1. Highest Performing Model: The RandomForest model achieved the highest

accuracy (0.86), closely followed by the XGBClassifier model (0.85). Both
models showed strong performance across all metrics, indicating their robustness
in handling the dataset.

2. Stratified K-Fold Cross-Validation: All models were evaluated using stratified

K-fold cross-validation, which ensures that each fold is representative of the
entire dataset. This method improves the reliability and generalizability of the
evaluation results by maintaining the proportion of each class within each fold.

3. Logistic Regression: Logistic Regression had the lowest accuracy (0.62). This
may be due to its linear nature, which might not be well-suited for capturing the
complexities and non-linear relationships in the maternal health risk data.

4. KNeighbors and SVC: The KNeighbors and SVC models exhibited moderate
performance with accuracies of 0.69 and 0.70, respectively. These models can
benefit from further parameter tuning and feature scaling to potentially improve
their performance.

5. MLPClassifier: The MLPClassifier, a type of neural network, showed an

accuracy of 0.67. While it did not outperform the tree-based models, neural
networks often require more data and extensive tuning to achieve optimal results.

Key Factors Influencing Predictions

The analysis identified several key factors that significantly influenced the predictions of
maternal health risks. These factors include:

 Age: Higher age groups are often associated with increased maternal health risks.

 Blood Pressure: Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings play a
crucial role in determining health risks.

 Blood Sugar Levels: Elevated blood sugar levels are a significant predictor of
maternal health complications.
  Body Temperature and Heart Rate: These physiological parameters also
contribute to the overall risk assessment.

Visual Representation

The following sections include detailed visualizations:

 Accuracy Comparison: Bar charts comparing the accuracy of different models.

 Feature Importance: Graphs depicting the importance of various features in the

prediction models.

 Confusion Matrices: Detailed confusion matrices for each model to visualize

their prediction capabilities and error rates.

These visualizations help in understanding the comparative performance of the models

and the significance of different features in predicting maternal health risks. The
comprehensive analysis underscores the importance of selecting the appropriate model
and features to improve predictive accuracy in maternal health risk assessment.

Future Enhancements
To further enhance the project's impact and effectiveness, the following future
enhancements are recommended:

 Integrating More Diverse Datasets: Incorporating a broader range of datasets

from different regions and demographics will improve the model's generalization
and applicability across diverse populations.

 Implementing Real-Time Data Processing: Developing capabilities for real-time

data processing will enable timely predictions and interventions, enhancing the
model's utility in clinical settings.

 Exploring Advanced Algorithms: Investigating and implementing more advanced

machine learning algorithms, such as ensemble methods and deep learning
techniques, may lead to even better accuracy and predictive performance.

By focusing on these enhancements, the project can further advance the field of maternal
health risk prediction and contribute to better health outcomes for expectant mothers. The
continuous improvement and integration of advanced methodologies will ensure that the
predictive models remain relevant and effective in diverse clinical scenarios, ultimately
supporting healthcare providers in making informed decisions for maternal health care.

Conclusions

In conclusion, this project has effectively addressed the challenge of predicting maternal
health risks through the application of machine learning techniques. The comprehensive
approach—encompassing data preprocessing, feature selection, and rigorous model
evaluation via stratified K-fold cross-validation—has proven to be both effective and
robust, leading to high predictive accuracy.

The RandomForest model emerged as the most accurate among the models tested,
showcasing its significant potential for practical application in maternal health risk
prediction. When compared to previous studies, our results demonstrate an improvement
in prediction accuracy, underscoring the effectiveness of the chosen methodologies.

Furthermore, the analysis of key factors influencing predictions—such as age, blood

pressure, blood sugar levels, body temperature, and heart rate—has provided valuable
insights for clinical interventions.
References
[1] Muhammad Nazrul Islam, Sumaiya Nuha Mustafina, Tahasin Mahmud, Nafiz Imtiaz
Khan, “Machine Learning to Predict Pregnancy Outcomes: A Systematic Review,
Synthesizing Framework and Future Research Agenda”, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth,
2022.

[2] Ali Raza, Hafeez Ur Rehman Siddiqui, Kashif Munir, Mubarak Almutairi, Furqan Rustam,
Imran Ashraf, “Ensemble Learning-Based Feature Engineering to Analyze Maternal Health
During Pregnancy and Health Risk Prediction”, PLOS ONE, 2022.

[3] “Risk Prediction of Maternal Health by Model Analysis Using Machine Learning”,
Springer, 2023.

[4] “Machine Learning-Based Maternal Health Risk Prediction Model for IoMT Framework”,
ResearchGate, 2023.

[5] Gözde Özsezer, Gülengül Mermer, “Prevention of Maternal Mortality: Prediction of

Health Risks of Pregnancy with Machine Learning Models”, SSRN, 2023.