Vela - Your Friendly Fourth Trimester Companion

Inspiration So many new parents feel isolated and overwhelmed in the fourth trimester, unsure where to turn for expert, compassionate support—especially overnight. Inspired by my experience as a postpartum doula and the countless families who needed more than just a how-to manual, we built Vela to provide empathetic, evidence-based support any time, day or night.

What it does Vela is a 24/7 postpartum companion app offering compassionate expertise at your fingertips. It guides parents through newborn care, sleep routines, and maternal mental health with tailored voice notes, evidence-based resources, milestone tracking, and access to real-time postpartum support, all in a gentle, judgment-free environment.

How we built it We started with first-hand doula expertise, mapped out week-by-week newborn care content, and developed a scalable digital platform. Our hackathon MVP combines a clean interface, short audio features for sleep-deprived parents, AI-powered education, and integrations with popular tracking tools, built for rapid support, accessibility, and warmth.

Challenges we ran into Conveying empathy and expertise through digital features, not just one-on-one support Balancing concise, actionable advice with the nuance families need Building meaningful resources for diverse parenting preferences and backgrounds Integrating voice, text, and AI-driven support in a short timeframe

Accomplishments that we're proud of Translated real doula care into bite-sized, accessible digital guidance Designed a user experience that is gentle, inviting, and inclusive Built a working MVP in less than 48 hours, including original content and branding Created a pathway for real postpartum support far beyond traditional resources

What we learned Parents need and appreciate non-judgmental, expert guidance delivered simply Voice notes and concise prompts are more engaging for tired, overwhelmed families than long articles Empathy and warmth are as critical as expertise in postpartum care Building community and personalized support can be scaled digitally

What's next for Vela - Your Friendly Fourth Trimester Companion We plan to expand Vela’s expertise library, add AI-powered Q&A and live doula chat, and deepen our integration with baby tracking tools. Our vision is for every new parent to feel supported, informed, and truly cared for, no matter their circumstances, 24/7.