Digital Health Partnership Expands Postpartum Support
EmblemHealth and Mae Health have announced a partnership to provide members with digital pregnancy and postpartum support, including access to community-based doulas. The collaboration aims to improve patient engagement and address health disparities through virtual education, 24/7 support, and culturally competent care navigation.
- In New York, Black, non-Hispanic women have a pregnancy-related mortality ratio five times higher than White, non-Hispanic women. This partnership directly targets these disparities, as Mae Health was founded to improve maternal health outcomes specifically for Black women. - The collaboration will serve EmblemHealth's members, a population that includes Medicaid beneficiaries, who are often at higher risk for poor maternal outcomes. New York State has been actively working to expand Medicaid coverage for doula services to address the maternal mortality crisis. - Research consistently shows that continuous support from a doula is associated with improved birth outcomes, including a reduced likelihood of a cesarean birth. This is significant as the pregnancy-related mortality ratio for cesarean delivery in New York is 3.1 times that of vaginal delivery. - Mae Health's digital platform provides tools to protect against leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality, such as preeclampsia and postpartum complications. This aligns with findings that over 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. - The founder and CEO of Mae Health is Maya Hardigan, who previously served as the Director of Clinical Innovation at Pfizer and launched Mae in 2020 to create a culturally-aligned maternal healthcare platform. - Studies on the effectiveness of doula care have shown a decrease in the risk of postpartum depression and anxiety. Digital health platforms are also emerging as effective tools for managing postpartum depression by providing timely support and resources. - This partnership is part of a broader movement to integrate doulas into maternal healthcare, as evidenced by a recent New York law ensuring mothers have full access to their designated doula in healthcare facilities throughout delivery and postpartum care. - The use of digital health tools in postpartum care, like the services offered by Mae Health, has been shown to increase screening rates for critical issues such as postpartum depression and intimate partner violence.
