One of the major health risks for the mother during and after pregnancy is self-harm (suicide or overdose). And less than 5% of women are screened for depression during those periods.
And Maureen Fura, CEO & Co-founder of Mammha, knows it well.
While expecting her son, she found herself hanging in suicidal thoughts, and looked for a doctor who could hear her. Eventually she found a therapist who named what she was experiencing and finally got the help she needed.
She then wondered why she went untreated for so long and how many other women were in the same situation.
She finds Jennifer, fighting a one-woman campaign to bring maternal mental health services to women who also suffered from the same debilitating disorder when she was pregnant.
Together they produced a documentary, Dark Side of the Full Moon, but it was not enough.
“A change in knowledge isn’t equal to a change in behavior. People knew women were dying but they still didn’t know what they could do to stop it.” Fura wanted to do more than educate about the problem. (Ref. healthtransformer.co)
Mammha (r. mama)
The idea behind Mammha is very simple: providing women with routine mental health screening during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
The aim was to create a go-to solution for providers, hospitals, and NICUs to screen, refer, support, and educate pregnant and postpartum women who may be experiencing maternal mental health complications like depression and anxiety.
As Fura explained to StartupHealth, Mammha is made by women for women. And that is making it really effective.
How it works.
A mom screens herself via the mobile app or the web-based platform. Her doctor receives the test results and, if applicable, activates immediate support through the Mammha Care Coordinator.
The Mammha Care Coordinator steps in to follow the patient through the journey of care, which lasts from 6 weeks to 10 months.
There is not always a need for therapy or medication, very often these moms just need to tell their story to a support group that understands them.
To summ it up, Mammha is about friendship, shared experience, lived wisdom, and love. And we might need more of these solutions to support the health care journey of women.
