## 1 Introduction  
Maternal health remains a critical global health priority, serving as a key indicator of healthcare quality, equity, access and population health. Despite progress in some regions,-internal mortality, defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, remains a significant challenge, with approximately 287,000 women dying during pregnancy or childbirth in 2020 [1]. The global maternal mortality rate (MMR) in 2021 was 158.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is higher than the 2020 rate of 157.1 deaths per 100,000 live births [2]. Sustainable development goal (SDG) 3.1 underscores the urgency of this issue, aiming to reduce the global MMR to fewer than 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030 [1; 3]. However, trends over the past decade reveal stark disparities: while many nations have made substantial progress through investments in healthcare infrastructure and maternal health education, regions like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia continue to experience high MMR far from the SDG target, with an MMR of 536 and 134, respectively [1; 4]. This is due to the inadequate access to skilled birth attendants, emergency obstetric care, and, subsequently, high rates of complications such as postpartum hemorrhage and eclampsia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), maternal deaths are overwhelmingly concentrated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for nearly 70% of maternal deaths and Southern Asia accounting for around 16% [1; 4]. Specifically, the maternal mortality rate in LMICs in 2020 was 430 per 100,000 live births versus 13 per 100,000 live births in high-income countries [5]. LMICs bear the highest burden of maternal mortality, primarily driven by systemic barriers that limit access to essential healthcare services. Healthcare gaps in these regions include severe shortages of skilled birth attendants, inadequate infrastructure, and limited availability of prenatal monitoring, particularly in rural and underserved areas [6]. Many regions solely rely on basic metrics such as vital signs due to a lack of advanced diagnostic tools that could enable early detection and management of pregnancy-related complications. Socio-economic disparities further exacerbate the problem, with poverty restricting access to care and inadequate funding for healthcare systems perpetuating poor maternal health outcomes. Additionally, cultural practices, such as home births without skilled care and delayed healthcare-seeking behavior, contribute significantly to maternal mortality. Finally, occasionally, geographic barriers, including remote locations and lack of transportation, make it difficult for women in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and rural South Asia to access emergency obstetric care [7]. Relevant to the population considered in this study, in rural Bangladesh, for instance, maternal health challenges are compounded by a combination of limited healthcare facilities, cultural norms prioritizing home births by traditional birth attendants (TBA), and significant transportation hurdles [8; 9]. These systemic barriers highlight the need for targeted interventions to strengthen healthcare systems in LMICs, expand access to skilled care, develop convenient and accessible technology-based solutions such as remote health monitoring, AI-driven tools, and other digital health innovations, and address the underlying socio-economic and cultural challenges that hinder equitable healthcare delivery [10; 11]. Among the various technology-based solutions such as remote health monitoring and AI-driven tools, the potential of minimal data, such as vital signs, for predicting maternal health risks is increasingly recognized as a cost-effective and scalable approach for improving outcomes in resource-constrained and rural settings [12].