Product design: Postpartum mental health app
Background: Completed the Transition into UX for Healthcare course where I designed and published a web app intended to support birth parents before and after delivery by encouraging journaling and community-based social support.
Problem: Postpartum depression rates have nearly doubled in the past decade, affecting 1 in 5 new mothers — and the problem is accelerating.
Untreated postpartum depression can disrupt infant attachment, delay child development, strain partnerships, and drive significant healthcare costs. Early intervention is one of the highest-leverage opportunities in maternal and family health.
Approach: Despite the growing prevalence of postpartum depression, new birth parents often face stigma around seeking help and lack accessible, personalized support systems.
The Matrescence app leverages optional AI-powered sentiment analysis of journal entries to proactively connect mothers with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques*, local support networks of their choosing, or medical care based on their detected risk level — meeting moms and dads where they are before a crisis develops.
*CBT feature would be available only under guidance of the user’s doctor.
Impact: Conducted in-person user research studies with mothers of young children and received generally positive feedback. This is a an app the majority would use to journal about postpartum experiences. Many shared honest suggestions on their reservations around AI and privacy which I addressed via design edits into the final design.
