Serena Williams in coordination with Mark Cuban invests $3 million in Mahmee to support new moms
Serena Williams, a famous Tennis superstar and a mother has taken the initiative to support Mahmee. Serena Williams, in coordination with Mark Cuban, is investing an amount of about $3 million in Mahmee, a startup that works toward filling the critical care gap in postpartum care.
Every year around 70% to 80% of women experience the side effects of postpartum. These side effects include postpartum depression (PPD), postpartum psychosis (a severe form of postpartum mood disorder), and anxiety, along with other mental disorders.
On a global scale, 0.5% to 60% of women deal with postpartum depression, and about 9% of women experiencing post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) following childbirth. The period of recovery from the side effects of postpartum can vary from days, weeks, or years, while physical healing expands up to Eight weeks if any severe case.
Serena Williams, a mother to a 22-months-old, herself went through a traumatic postpartum phase, looks forward to helping the mother encountering postnatal side effects.
The co-founder of Mahmee, Melissa Hanna, thinks that the fundamental problem regarding this issue is that “the data is fragmented.”. So, with Mahmee, she looks forward to reaching out and help more moms facing hard timings post-childbirth.
Mahmee provides a plate form which includes online group discussions with other moms going through the same thing with support from a trained “maternity coach” who can flag if something is wrong. Mahmee also works as a source of connection between the moms and their medical providers.
The co-founder shared an example with TechCrunch on how a mom, showing the signs of septic shock, was helped by a coach with suitable instructions. The difference between Mahmee and other online services like the Bloom Foundation and Postpartum Support International (PSI) is the link between moms and their medical providers, which is made possible through Mahmee.
Mahmee helps the mothers and also earns money through the process of group and individual video calling (the introductory session with a coach is free) along with its various support groups.
Counseling and support from hospitals and other medical networks are also possible, but this procedure comes with time issues. These counseling sessions can proceed up to more extended periods in case of busy hospital schedules, which isn’t the case with Mahmee, which provides digital support with the help of its 1,000 providers.
The co-founder of Mahmee told TechCrunch how she plans to use the $3 million, provided by Serena Williams, to grow her team out, including engineers, clinicians, and sales staff, while giving hints on currently running partnerships within the health care industry.