MamiHome

Foreign women suffer stressful situations that can negatively affect their health and their baby’s health. A qualitative study  showed that Turkish and Portuguese women in Switzerland faced stressful situations that negatively affected their pregnancies.[1] Furthermore, a poorer level of satisfaction with maternity services may be a barrier for utilization of these services by pregnant migrants.[2]

Another qualitative study explored migrant women’s experiences during pregnancy and childbirth in University Hospitals of Geneva and Zurich and showed that main negative experiences were either personal (lack of social support and lack of health literacy) or structural barriers (language barriers and lack of information).[3] MamiHome intends to fill this gap.

[1] Paola Bollini, Urszula Stotzer, and Philippe Wanner, “Pregnancy Outcomes and Migration in Switzerland: Results from a Focus Group Study,” International Journal of Public Health 52, no. 2 (April 1, 2007): 78–86, https://doi-org.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/10.1007/s00038-007-6003-3.

[2] Bollini, Stotzer, and Wanner.

[3] J. Sami et al., “Giving Birth in Switzerland: A Qualitative Study Exploring Migrant Women’s Experiences during Pregnancy and Childbirth in Geneva and Zurich Using Focus Groups,” Reproductive Health 16, no. 1 (July 22, 2019): 112, https://doi-org.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/10.1186/s12978-019-0771-0.

MamiHome is a women-centered application for foreign pregnant and postpartum women in middle and high income countries with global vision and local adaptation. MamiHome will provide foreign women in rich countries who have insufficient social support, lack of information or health literacy, such as undocumented women[1], an alternative to monitor their health during pregnancy and postpartum. Our App provides women with timely and culturally adapted information and self-assessments.

[1] J. Sami et al., “Giving Birth in Switzerland: A Qualitative Study Exploring Migrant Women’s Experiences during Pregnancy and Childbirth in Geneva and Zurich Using Focus Groups,” Reproductive Health 16, no. 1 (July 22, 2019): 112, https://doi-org.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/10.1186/s12978-019-0771-0.

✔   Pregnant and Postpartum women: Stress reduction during pregnancy and postpartum by encouraging women’s self-care and consequent actions through basic and premium features that are culturally adapted.

✔   Maternity care centers: Monitoring women attending maternity care centers and reducing unnecessary visits by providing them adequate dashboards to identify  needs and risks.

✔   Public authorities (health and migration): Monitoring maternity care centers by providing them adequate dashboards to identify needs and areas of improvement.

The team is mainly conformed by public and global health experts and also a business manager, migrant advisor, and a marketing femtech advisor. As a team we have public health expertise in Mexico related to national maternal mortality issues, local expertise with indigenous and vulnerable pregnant women in Guerrero, Mexico (who participated in the design of the App), and in the use of digital applications for women's reproductive health. Two members are foreign women living in Switzerland (Mexican and Ukranian), so we are also close to foreign mother's needs in rich countries.

We would mainly want to increase our network to identify needs that can be helpful to increase use of the App. We also are looking for local partners,  and investors, support for our price, sales and funding strategy.

There are a lot of maternal health Apps such as BabyCenter, Mami Connection, GiftedMom, and maymay. Competition has been growing, demonstrating a need to have innovative solutions to improve maternal health.

Unlike other tools, MamiHome is at the same time interactive, gives personalized information through self-assessments for physical and mental health to the women, can be culturally adapted, and is a management tool for decision-makers.

A similar tool, based on outcomes reported directly by women, does not exist for maternal health. However, the efficacy of using patient-reported outcomes to measure outcomes in other interventions has already been proven in countries such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

MamiHome will impact the following SDGs: 3 Good health and well-being, 5 Gender equality, 10 Reduced inequalities, 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions, and 17 Partnerships for the goals.

Our main goal is to empower pregnant and postpartum women to help reduce preventable maternal mortality.

MamiHome will help pregnant and postpartum (P&P) foreign women to reduce stress during P&P by encouraging women’s self-care and consequent actions through basic and premium features that are culturally adapted. It will also help maternity care centers to monitor P&P women attending their centers and to reduce unnecessary visits by providing them adequate dashboards to identify needs and risks.

Maternal mortality

Neonatal mortality

Disposition to continue using the App through pregnancy and postpartum

Disposition to recommend the App to other pregnant and postpartum women

Retention rate

Monthly active users (MAUs)

Average session length

Empowered pregnant and postpartum women will be better informed to have a positive experience, better physical and mental health and will increase quality maternity care by evaluating the services they receive. 

We are currently using a web application. Our goal is to use artificial intelligence and SMS technology, iOS and Android.

MamiHome has a women-centred approach since our end-users are women. However, undocumented migrant women  suffer from being exposed to gender vulnerabilities as some governments could exploit the pregnant women's need for access to healthcare for immigration control[1]. Offering a tool to track maternal health through pregnancy and childbirth and improve access to quality maternity care to disadvantaged populations, like undocumented women, will have a positive impact in the entire society, irrespective of gender, such as a decrease in child mortality. This study will analyse neonatal morbidity and mortality with a gender dimension.

[1] Geddie, Oikonomou, and LeVoy, “Access to Health Care for Undocumented Migrant Women in Europe.”, 2006.

MamiHome is a women centered application for pregnant and postpartum women and their care providers. We noticed that women have a lot of fears and uncertainties related to their postpartum and pregnancy causing them unhealthy stress. Our App allows stress reduction during pregnancy and postpartum by encouraging women’s self-care and consequent actions through basic and premium features.

We also noticed a difficulty for maternity care centers to follow pregnant and postpartum women outside their buildings. MamiHome monitors women attending maternity care centers and provides maternity care centers  adequate dashboards to identify  needs and risks.

MamiHome includes software and a platform offered as services.  The platform includes remote execution software that can support pregnant women and that they can use to obtain information, contact health professionals and fill in surveys that will provide information and benchmarks to the women themselves, to health centres and hospitals as well as to health authorities.

Revenue will come through a set of initiatives:

•       Women’s licences: There is a basic license with free access and a premium licence (paying a program fee)

•       Tailored reports: For maternity care centers and public authorities.

•       Anonymized health data: For maternity care centers, public authorities, or others.

•       Sponsorships: From maternity care centers, public authorities, or others.

•       Advertisements & Promotion: For maternity care centers, public authorities, or others (e.g. maternal health industry)

•       Marketing studies: For maternity care centers, public authorities, or others (e.g. maternal health industry).

We have made crowdfunding campaigns in association with a non-profit organization in Mexico City which has attended more than 40 thousand vulnerable pregnant women, Red Materno Infantil. We have raised one campaign for tablets for the pilot and another one to adapt the App to Red Materno Infantil's needs and image so they can use them with the women they work with.