BirthSafe

Your one stop advocate for safer maternity care

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Inspiration

The unacceptably high rates of maternal and neonatal mortality inspired us to take action. We recognized that too many women faced ignored symptoms, delayed diagnoses, and a lack of informed decision-making in their most vulnerable moments. We focused on Sustainable Development Goals 3.1, 3.2, and 5.6 to align with the Robin Hood societal issue track. The Patient Safety Technology Challenge provided the perfect platform to channel our passion into a tangible solution that addresses these critical issues.

What it does

Throughout the process, we discovered that AI and software could be powerful tools to empower patients. We learned that clear communication, user-friendly design, and secure real-time data are essential for ensuring that mothers receive the care they need. Our journey underscored the importance of building trust and providing transparent, secure records to support informed decisions. Birth Safe aims at solving problems faced by mothers, like diagnostic errors & missed risk factors, ignored patient concerns, medication & treatment errors, disrespectful treatment, and delayed emergency escalation. Our app focuses on solve these 5 issue categories we identified through our research:

Key Failure Areas in Maternal Healthcare

These are the five core systemic breakdowns in provider-centered maternity care that contribute to preventable harm:

  1. Dismissed or Ignored Concerns
    Patients' symptoms or instincts are overlooked, leading to delayed diagnosis or missed escalation.

  2. Diagnostic Errors and Missed Risk Factors
    Critical conditions like infections, preeclampsia, or fetal distress go undetected or unaddressed.

  3. Medication and Treatment Errors
    Includes unsafe prescriptions during pregnancy, missed medications, or harmful delays in care.

  4. Disrespectful or Inhumane Treatment
    Lack of dignity, informed consent, empathy, or privacy during labor and postpartum experiences.

  5. Delayed Emergency Escalation
    Failures to act swiftly when red flags arise — often resulting in maternal or neonatal injury or death.

How we built it

We started by researching global maternal health challenges and reaching out to mothers who have experienced the maternal healthcare system. Leveraging AI, we developed an intuitive platform that monitors risk factors, offers plain-language medical guidance, and securely documents every patient interaction. Iterative prototyping was crucial in refining our app to ensure it was both effective and easy to use.

Challenges we ran into

Building Birth Safe wasn't without hurdles. We navigated technical complexities in integrating real-time monitoring and ensuring data security, while also addressing the nuances of sensitive medical information. Additionally, balancing the need for advanced diagnostics with the simplicity of user experience presented a constant challenge. Despite these obstacles, our commitment to saving the lives of mothers and babies kept us moving forward.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Successfully integrating Gemini AI for personalized risk assessment
  • Developing a clear and accessible decision support system

What we learned

We learned that technology, when used with empathy and precision, can bridge critical gaps in healthcare. Clear communication, iterative design, and a commitment to security are vital to building trust. This journey reinforced the power of innovation in addressing societal challenges and the importance of continually refining our approach based on real-world feedback.

What's Next for Birth Safe

Our journey doesn't end here. We are focused on further enhancing our AI capabilities, expanding our platform to integrate more comprehensive health data, and forging partnerships with healthcare providers globally to improve current clinic-focused systems. The next phase involves rigorous clinical trials and scaling our solution to reach more women, ensuring that every expectant mother has access to the care she deserves, regardless of demographics.

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