Virtual maternal telehealth provider BabyLiveAdvice raises $1.1M

The infant mortality rate in the US is 71% higher than the comparable country average

The infant mortality rate in the U.S. is sadly, and shockingly, high: 5.8 deaths under one year of age per 1,000 live births, which is 71 percent higher than the comparable country average of 3.4 deaths. And those numbers are higher among minority populations, particularly the Black, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian communities. 

BabyLiveAdvice wants to change that by providing easier access to maternal care through telehealth; its virtual care teams provide advice, counseling, and support from maternal-child nurses, nurse practitioners, midwives, lactation consultants, and nutritionists.

On Tuesday, the company announced the completion of a $1.1 million seed investment led by Venn Ventures and Synergen Technology Labs, along with Ob Hospitalist Group, CareFirst BCBS, and LifeBridge Health. 

BabyLiveAdvice, which was founded by CEO Sigi Marmorstein, RN, PHN, MSN, FNP-BC, partners with healthcare providers and health systems, including March of Dimes, Johnson and Johnson, The National Black Doulas Association, LifeBridge Health Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Huntington Health, and AltaMed, to provide coordinated, comprehensive prenatal, postpartum, and infant care.

The company provides its users with virtual, live maternal education classes, as well as improved maternal-infant education in subjects such as lactation, proper nutrition, mental health, weight management, and blood pressure and blood sugar control. It also offers a HIPAA-compliant telehealth solution, telemonitoring capabilities, chat functionality, and group or one-on-one consultations.

All consultations are documented, and notes are shared with the patient’s medical provider through EHR integration.

For hospitals, BabyLiveAdvice helps them attract first time moms and parents, and increase patient satisfaction and member retention, through prenatal education, and lactation and postpartum follow-up. For the providers, it helps them focus on the patients who need care the most by answering patient's non-emergency questions; all visits are $24.

So far, the company has served over 40,000 parents, and it says it has demonstrated improved clinical outcomes, decreased emergency room use, reduced readmissions, and resulted in fewer postpartum complications.

"We are the only company on the market that can support the entire pregnancy journey in one place from the comfort of the user’s home without increasing the provider burden. With BabyLiveAdvice, babies now come with instructions,” Marmorstein said in a statement.

(Image source: babyliveadvice.com)