In 1986, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began tracking maternal deaths, seven women for every 100,000 live births died during pregnancy, during childbirth, or in the weeks and months following. By 2016, the annual rate had jumped to 17 women per 100,000, and as of 2020, that number had increased to 23.8 deaths, according to the CDC. That's almost three times higher than that of France, the country with the next highest rate at 8.7 deaths.
It’s even worse for Black mothers, who face a risk three times higher than White or Hispanic mothers.
Just a few months ago, a Providence-based public benefit corporation launched to help local mothers navigate the growing crisis. In late December of last year, LunaYou BPC, a maternal wellbeing platform with a focus on “empowerment to end the maternal health crisis in America” launched their site and accompanying app.
Founder Saul Kaplan said LunaYou was incorporated and began operations as a Rhode Island Public Benefit Corporation and launched with local program partner NHPRI, with a focus on enrolling BIPOC women facing the greatest risk of bad maternal health outcomes.
“All shared personal experience and self-generated wellbeing data is controlled by LunaYou Mamas alone,” Kaplan said. “We encourage and make it easy for LunaYou Mamas to share their personal LunaYou data and wellbeing experience with all of their maternal healthcare providers. Pregnancy isn't a disease, we shouldn't treat it like one.”
Kaplan said the impact venture was designed by the Business Innovation Factory (BIF) and was specifically designed to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce racial disparities.
Just this week, LunaYou BPC raised $125,000 in seed funding as it begins fundraising.
Available on any smartphone, LunaYou is a resource and community forum, where expectant mothers can track their health, record notes or talk to other people in similar situations. The app also lets users track blood pressure, sleep, and step count on a private wellbeing dashboard.
LunaYou Mamas
LunaYou members can also attend virtual events with other LunaYou users and coaches, to support their wellbeing and help establish important social connections.
LunaYou Experience Director Courtney Lester is responsible for empowering LunaYou Mamas throughout pregnancy and for three months after giving birth, to improve their own and each other's maternal health outcomes.
"While we're just getting started with 250 NHPRI Members enrolled in LunaYou so far, LunaYou Mamas tell us every day how grateful they are for the trusted space to be heard and to count on the support of a LunaYou Wellbeing Coach and the LunaYou Mamas Community throughout her pregnancy,” Lester said.
There are currently a couple hundred people enrolled to use LunaYou in Rhode Island, but Kaplan said with fundraising just getting started he’s hoping to grow that number quickly.
“We’re on a path to enroll 500 women and we have the goal of 1,500 which would be down the line of course,” he said. “We’re hoping to work with other program partners as we grow and continue to improve the platform.”
Kaplan said it would likely take two to three years to grow the app’s user base to that goal.
“We want to gather enough data to show we’re changing outcomes and we also want to understand the economics of it all, what it costs to serve these women as we scale,” he said.
