Supporting pregnancy and birth as a life experience, not just a clinical condition

In healthcare, pregnancy can become a very clinical condition as multiple parties pay their best attention to prenatal care, high-risk indicators, and outcomes. Yet, for individuals, it is a life experience.?

As Wildflower has learned first-hand over the past few years through our Health Advocates and Coaches, supporting pregnancy and birth as an experience means more compassionate care and greater patient engagement.

Wildflower Health's team of Health Advocates and Coaches serve as an extension of clinical teams and as the human touch that complements our digital platform. Their thoughtful and knowledgeable guidance happens every day, directly with patients. As we enter the last days of Black Maternal Health Week 2024, we wanted to share just a few of their experiences supporting patients.?

Meet Ivy, mom of 5 and 4 months pregnant

Early in Ivy’s pregnancy, she reported in her mobile app, provided by her OB in partnership with Wildflower, that she experienced a previous pregnancy loss. Our Wildflower Health Advocate reached out to learn more about Ivy and the support she needed. Ivy is a busy mom – caring for 4 children ages 4 to 13 – while also being pregnant.

Ivy said she would love the extra support, so she enrolled in Health Coaching. During their first call together, WIldflower’s Health Coach learned just how involved Ivy is in running her big household, with very little help in return. This, paired with traumatic past experiences, have caused a slurry of mental health distress for Ivy.?

“I just want to be able to dance again,” Ivy said. “I’ve been dancing all my life, and I can’t do that right now.”?

She had a loss 8 months into a previous pregnancy and fears this pregnancy will end traumatically. This fear, alongside previous postpartum depression and being the main caregiver in her household, led to Ivy experiencing high levels of stress, grief and overwhelm. Ivy is desperate for alone time.?

For example, her youngest child is autistic and has outbursts if mom is not around all the time. The Health Advocate and Coach team discovered a wide variety of resources for Ivy and her children, including multiple special needs community programs for autistic children.?

Ivy was connected to a home visiting program specializing in support for Black mothers, and a maternal mental illness support site with Black female providers. In working with Ivy’s health plan, her Health Advocate referred her to behavioral health case management, services for her autistic son, and a review of Ivy’s social needs.

Weekly sessions with her Wildflower Health Coach allow Ivy to take time for herself and discuss how asking for help is not a weakness, but a strength.

Meet Tria, at high risk for her fourth pregnancy with preeclampsia

Tria didn’t want her current pregnancy to be like her previous 3. She was sure to use her Wildflower-powered and health plan-provided pregnancy app to its full advantage, including reporting in an app survey that she had preeclampsia in all of her previous pregnancies.?

Prompted by Tria's survey result, both the Wildflower Health Advocate and Wildflower Health Coach reached out to support Tria. She was anxious about likely having a c-section and was looking for information on surgery prep and after care.?

Wildflower’s Advocacy and Coaching teams were able to quickly connect Tria to a variety of resources and health recommendations, such as vaccine access and education, and specialized preeclampsia emotional and informational support.?

In addition to health needs, Tria was connected to financial assistance for Black single mothers, as well as much-needed free or low-cost baby supplies. Wildflower’s team also directly connected Tria to her health plan’s high-risk nurse case management team to support her needs, even after birth.

Tria proved to be an avid user of her pregnancy app, regularly asking questions about her health experiences in the app’s Message Center where Advocates and Coaches could respond in real-time. In fact, when her phone service was disconnected, Tria was still able to communicate in the app’s Message Center.?

Tria showed a high level of curiosity and desire to learn as much as she could, turning to the app’s Learn Library to read about c-sections, post-labor care, swelling feet and headaches within the thousands of clinically-relevant and trusted health articles.

These interactions filled gaps between her prenatal appointments, as well as a safe space for Tria to ask questions and get specific answers.?

“I matter, too!”?

After talking through her stresses and concerns, our patient Shar shared this sentiment with her Wildflower Health Advocate. To read about Shar’s journey and the support provided, visit Wildflower’s webpage focused on our Black maternal health approach and support tools.?

Like countless other care advocates, caregivers and clinical teams - the support for all mothers does not start and end during an awareness week. What Wildflower and many organizations are doing this week is bringing awareness to the needs, the dismal outcomes and the opportunities to support our Black mothers and families. It doesn’t end when Black Maternal Health Week ends. Our Health Advocates will continue to be there for moms today, tomorrow and the days after that.?