Superstar tennis player and new mom Serena Williams is in a digital support network startup for new moms. She joined American businessman Mark Cuban to invest $3 million seed funding into a company called Mahmee. The company will offer support and care to moms with postpartum depression.

 

An estimated one in five women in the US suffers from postpartum depression. 9% of women also experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after childbirth. Furthermore, a woman’s body goes through rigorous physical stress during childbirth. These post-childbirth issues can even come with medical complications.

 

Williams, who has a 22-month-old baby, has had her fair share of mommy issues. She has had to deal with blood clots which made her take a long break from her career. The co-founder of the Mahmee start-up company, Melissa Hanna, says they built the digital network so that moms can get the support that they need.

 

Black women, especially in America, have issues receiving proper post-childbirth care. In Serena’s experience, she had to shout at the doctors to do a proper CT scan that eventually saved her life. Other women complain of not getting the right dose of pain relievers required to help them survive the physical pains of childbirth. The community in itself offers proper help from medical providers and other moms alike.

 

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A mom support system

The digital support network startup, Mahmee, which Serena Williams invested in, is a platform where moms can get online group support with other moms going through the same things. They have conversations with other women in a similar sphere and get medical help too. It also provides support from trained maternity coaches who will alert them to any anomalies.

 

 

Hanna thinks that moms do not get the proper support that they need as they place the most attention on the baby. She said, “We’re so focused on delivering a healthy baby that mom gets side-lined. This industry is lacking the IT infrastructure needed to connect these professionals from different organizations to each other and to follow and monitor patients across practices and health systems. This missing element creates gaps in care. Mahmee is the glue that connects the care ecosystem and closes the gaps.”

 

Hanna plans to use the $3-million-dollar investment to grow her team of clinicians, sales staff and engineers. She also intends to partner with healthcare professionals in the industry.