Black Maternal Health

Wildflower met Mary late in her first pregnancy, and she had a lot of priorities she was eager to accomplish. As a highly motivated and independent woman, she wanted to be prepared but was feeling like she was behind in her growing to do list. In the first phone call between Mary and her Wildflower Health Advocate that list was quite extensive: Food and housing insecurity, transportation and financial challenges, childcare and maternity leave preparation, nutrition and behavioral health support. Together, they dove in to the list. Her Health Advocate gathered all the community and care team resources Mary could access. Mary simply needed to be pointed in the right direction, from there she took the initiative to fill out applications and gather as many resources as she could.

With ongoing in-app chat communications and phone calls throughout Mary’s later weeks of her pregnancy, her Health Advocate and Mary checked in on how she was feeling and the status of those many applications. Mary also used the app to complete surveys and questionnaires about her pregnancy. Her Health Advocate was alerted to a high EPDS score Mary logged when she took the screening in the app. When reaching out, her Health Advocate learned Mary visited the ED that day because she was having an especially hard week.

Unfortunately, due to gaps in communication among Mary’s care team, Mary’s stressors stayed high. During her last 2 weeks of pregnancy, she was constantly following up on items such as:

• Her employer’s HR team not processing her FMLA, even with proof they received her documents
• Missing a couple key tests in the clinic that were not mentioned to her and therefore not performed in the correct week of pregnancy
• Her breast pump prescription being sent to the wrong location for her health insurance to properly cover it
• Denial of her rental assistance application due to the organization’s technical and timing error

Her Health Advocate supported Mary by also making calls on her behalf to certain organizations, with both hoping that each issue would be resolved by her due date. It highlights how complex at times it can be to get assistance, even past the initial application. Mary realized that no matter the outcome of these issues, she could ask for help, which will not only help her and her health in the future, but also her baby’s.

“My pregnancy taught me that I am stronger than I thought, and that it's okay to ask for help and support. The advocacy I've received has been a constant encouragement, reminding me that I am a strong and capable woman, both on my own and while pregnant.”

Early in Ivy’s pregnancy, she reported in her mobile app provided by her OB and 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.

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.

Her Health Advocate 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 Advocate allow Ivy to take time for herself and discuss how asking for help is not a weakness, but a strength.

Well into her second trimester, Shar was referred to Wildflower for blood pressure remote patient monitoring (RPM). It was clear after the initial Health Advocate conversation that Shar’s current health journey was filled with stressors. Shar is the main caregiver for her teen son and adopted nephew with special needs. Though she takes medication for pre-existing high anxiety, she recently stopped out of safety concerns. She wishes to have a holistic pregnancy, requesting support and connections, but she did not know where to start.

Advocacy resources + connections

• Holistic wellness including prenatal yoga, health plan programs and Black caregiver networks
• Free community doula program, health plan-provided on-call doula program
• Community mental health support groups and kinship care support, including buddy mentoring
• Parenting support for children with special needs, peer support lines and home visitation programs

Health Coaching + growth

• Shar signed up for Wildflower Health Coaching, asking about support for a healthier lifestyle
• Morning sickness and nausea: Shar often feels nauseous when trying to eat larger amounts of foods; learning from her coach to listen to her body instead of eating on “auto-pilot”
• Stress: Shar recognizes she can be quick to react when stressed; discussing with her coach the power of taking a pause, taking a breath and being mindful of when she feels frustrated

Tria didn’t want her current pregnancy to be like her previous 3. She was sure to use her 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.

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, including much-needed free or low-cost baby supplies. Tria was also directly connected 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.