Creating a safe space for pregnant women and
nursing mothers.
Introduction
Childbirth is often viewed as a beautiful and transformative process, but for millions of women globally, it is also a period of profound emotional and psychological turmoil. This case study explores the creation of a mental health app designed specifically to address the challenges faced by women who experience extreme trauma before, during, and after giving birth. This project is a heartfelt response to the silent suffering that countless women endure, yet seldom speak about—shedding light on an invisible struggle and offering empathy-driven solutions.
As a woman and designer, this project is deeply personal to me. It’s not just about delivering a product; it’s about healing, empowering, and giving a voice to those who have been silenced by their trauma. By building this app, I aim to educate not only women but also men, caregivers, and society at large, fostering understanding and compassion for the unique and harrowing experiences women face during these critical phases of life.
My role
For SheNest, I led the entire design and research process, focusing on creating an empathetic, user-centered mental health app for women experiencing trauma before, during, and after childbirth. My role involved conducting in-depth user research with women, healthcare providers, and mental health experts to truly understand their needs.
I designed user flows, wireframes, and prototypes to build an intuitive, emotionally supportive platform. Collaborating with mental health professionals, I ensured that every feature addressed the specific challenges these women face, making SheNest a safe and healing space for them.
My tools
Figma, Slack, Figjam, Google docs
Team
Project timeline
Project Duration: 4 months
Target audience
The app is ideally designed for women within a certain age bracket but further research showed that other close friends or support systems might need it.
- Primary audience:
- Women aged 18-45 who are in any stage of pregnancy or postpartum and have experienced traumatic birth or mental health challenges such as postpartum depression, anxiety, or PTSD.
- Women dealing with complicated pregnancies that induce stress or emotional strain, including high-risk pregnancies and women with a history of mental health issues.
- Secondary audience:
- Support systems including partners, family members, and friends who wish to better understand the experiences of women going through postpartum trauma.
- Healthcare providers (OB-GYNs, midwives, therapists) looking for tools to better support women with mental health challenges during and after childbirth.
Measuring success
Success for this app is measured not just by engagement but by how effectively it helps users feel supported and improves their mental well-being.
- User retention: Are users coming back for ongoing emotional support?
- Mood improvements: Are users reporting better emotional well-being over time?
- Community engagement: Are users interacting with others in peer-support groups?
- Therapist connections: How many users are able to connect with certified professionals for the help
they need?
Problem discovery
Many women face unimaginable trauma and life changes they seldom discuss, striving to
appear strong for the world.
Through conversations with OB-GYNs, midwives, mental health experts, and women who experienced traumatic childbirth, I uncovered key issues in maternal mental health. Women often felt that their emotional recovery was overlooked in favor of physical recovery. Many also expressed a strong need for peer support, with community sharing seen as vital for emotional healing.
Core question
How might we design an app that provides emotional support, community, and professional
help for women facing traumatic birth experiences and postpartum struggles?
Design process
My Solution - SheNest
To address the core issues I uncovered, I
designed SheNest to provide women with
the comprehensive mental health support
they need during pre-birth and
postpartum trauma.
Daily emotional check-ins
Users can track their mood and emotional well-being through customizable prompts. These check-ins encourage self-awareness and provide insights into their mental health patterns, helping them better understand their emotional journey over time.
Peer support forums
SheNest offers a safe, moderated space where women can share their personal experiences with others going through similar challenges. This peer-to-peer support fosters a sense of community, allowing users to feel less isolated and more supported by women who understand their struggles firsthand.
Access to certified therapists
Recognizing the barriers to professional help, SheNest provides virtual sessions with licensed therapists and asynchronous chat-based therapy. This feature allows women to receive guidance from mental health professionals, regardless of their location or schedule.
Mindfulness & relaxation techniques.
SheNest incorporates guided breathing exercises, meditations, and affirmations tailored to women’s mental health needs. These techniques are designed to help users manage distress, reduce anxiety, and promote a calming, centered mindset during stressful moments.
Emergency mental health support
For women in acute mental health crises, SheNest offers direct access to emergency helplines. This ensures that users have immediate support during moments of overwhelming mental or emotional difficulty, providing a crucial lifeline when it’s needed most.
The process
Understanding the Problem
The unspoken struggles of postpartum
women.
While pregnancy is a delicate time, childbirth and the postpartum period present their own mental health challenges. The trauma women face before birth (due to complicated pregnancies, lack of support, or personal crises) and the struggles that follow (such as postpartum depression, anxiety, PTSD, and isolation) are rarely discussed.
According to research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), postpartum PTSD affects 9% of mothers, while postpartum depression impacts 13%. Unfortunately, only 30% of women experiencing these issues seek professional help, often due to stigma, lack of access, or overwhelming personal responsibilities.
Competitors analysis
The competitors analysis revealed that while there are existing mental health products, they fall short in specifically addressing the unique needs of women facing traumatic pre-birth and postpartum experiences.
To ensure SheNest stands out and meets the specific needs of women facing traumatic pre-birth and postpartum experiences, I conducted a competitor analysis, focusing on three prominent mental health apps: BetterHelp, Headspace, and The Bump. Each competitor offers valuable insights but has gaps that SheNest addresses directly.
1. Betterhelp
- Strengths: Offers a wide range of licensed therapists for virtual therapy, providing users with 24/7 access to mental health professionals.
- Gaps: While BetterHelp excels in therapy accessibility, it lacks a targeted focus on postpartum women and doesn’t provide community support or peer-based experiences. Emotional challenges specific to childbirth trauma are not fully addressed.
- How SheNest stands out: By offering both professional therapy and peer support forums tailored to mothers, SheNest bridges the gap between clinical mental health care and community-driven emotional support.
2. Headspace
- Strengths: Specializes in mindfulness, meditation, and breathing exercises. Headspace has a strong library of resources aimed at mental wellness.
- Gaps: Although Headspace promotes mindfulness, it lacks the specific emotional check-ins and targeted therapy options that are essential for women dealing with childbirth-related trauma
- How SheNest stands out: SheNest integrates mindfulness techniques like guided meditations, but with a direct focus on women in pre- and post-birth phases, combined with real-time emotional check-ins and therapist access.
3. The Bump room
- Strengths: Focuses on pregnancy and motherhood, offering resources for expectant and new mothers, including tips, advice, and forums.
- Gaps: The Bump primarily addresses physical pregnancy needs and logistical concerns, like baby care and birth preparation, without adequately supporting the emotional or mental health of postpartum mothers.
- How SheNest stands out: SheNest goes beyond just motherhood advice. It provides mental health tools and emotional support specific to the psychological trauma of pre-birth and postpartum, ensuring a well-rounded approach to maternal well-being.
Validating my insights
After speaking with over 50 women who had undergone traumatic childbirth and postpartum experiences, I uncovered a shared sense of emotional isolation, difficulty accessing mental health resources, and a need for greater community support.
To deepen these findings, I conducted one-on-one interviews where women candidly shared their struggles with mental health care and their healing process. This invaluable feedback shaped SheNest into a platform designed to offer personalized care and foster a supportive community, ensuring these women never feel alone on their journey to recovery.
The key discovery was that
women need better emotional
support and
access to mental
health care.
Identifying pain points
Emotional neglect and lack of support during pre-birth and postpartum periods lead to deep frustration and isolation for women, affecting their mental health and overall recovery.
Emotional isolation:
Many women reported feeling alone during their traumatic pre-birth and postpartum experiences, as there was little emphasis on their emotional health in conventional medical settings.
Lack of community support:
A majority expressed the desire for peer-to-peer support but found it difficult to connect with others who shared similar experiences, particularly in a safe, moderated environment.
Overemphasis on physical recovery:
Traditional postpartum care focused heavily on the physical aspects of recovery, often neglecting the mental and emotional health that is equally crucial for well-being.
Lack of community support:
A majority expressed the desire for peer-to-peer support but found it difficult to connect with others who shared similar experiences, particularly in a safe, moderated environment.
Opportunity
There’s a significant opportunity to provide a platform that offers tailored emotional support and community engagement, giving women both professional help and peer-based care in one accessible space.
Understanding personas & goals
Crafting detailed profiles to address key goals and needs.
User story
Envisioning Maya’s scenarios to define MVP essentials.
To make SheNest genuinely helpful for women dealing with traumatic pre-birth and postpartum experiences, I visualized ideal user journeys. This approach allowed me to determine the core features that would provide real value. These insights guided the design process, ensuring the app offers meaningful support and a compassionate user experience.
Discovery
Maya, a new mom facing postpartum depression, hears about SheNest through a parenting blog and downloads the app, seeking emotional support.
Onboarding
After answering a few questions about her birth experience, Maya selects community support, mental health check-ins, and therapy as her top needs.
Daily check-ins
Maya logs in daily to track her mood and mental health through simple prompts, gaining insights into her emotional patterns.
Community support
She connects with other moms in the peer forums, finding comfort in shared experiences and feeling less isolated.
Therapy access
When needed, Maya books virtual therapy sessions directly through the app, messaging her therapist between appointments.
Progress reflection
Weeks later, Maya notices her emotional growth through gentle progress reminders, continuing to use SheNest for support and self-care.
This seamless journey strengthens her trust in SheNest, knowing she can
count on it for emotional support, mental health resources, and personalized
care throughout her recovery.
Brainstorming storyboard
Ensuring support for the ideal solution scenario.
To facilitate Sarah’s ideal journey with SheNest, we translated our design goals into clear, actionable steps. These are flexible enough to allow for multiple approaches but precise enough to keep our focus on supporting her mental health needs effectively.
Developing a strategy
Enhancing user engagement through personalized, visual, and interactive experiences.
In response to my research, I discovered that the solution for SheNest should allow users to actively engage with their mental health journey. This means creating a space where each woman can see how her choices, reflections, and actions directly affect her emotional well-being
I implemented a design that tracks users’ progress visually, using small milestones to show growth. This approach encourages users to stay connected with their emotional recovery, offering frequent, meaningful feedback to foster both engagement and motivation.
Design goals
Create a safe and supportive space
Design an interface that feels comforting and non-judgmental, allowing women to openly share their experiences without fear or hesitation.
Seamless access to professional help
Ensure users can easily connect with licensed therapists through the app, offering options for both live and asynchronous chat therapy.
Encourage community engagement
Foster a sense of belonging through interactive peer support forums where women can connect, share, and support one another.
Visual progress tracking for emotional growth
Provide users with a visual representation of their emotional journey, using milestones and small achievements to track growth and motivate continued engagement.
User-friendly mindfulness and relaxation tools
Incorporate easy-to-navigate relaxation techniques, guided meditations, and breathing exercises that are readily accessible during moments of distress.
Customizable check-ins for personalized support
Design daily check-ins with customizable prompts that cater to each user’s unique mental health needs, helping them reflect on their emotional well-being.
System architecture
Streamlined user flow for emotional and practical support.
To meet the unique needs of my target users, I designed a user flow for SheNest that emphasizes simplicity and ease of use. The flow is tailored to guide users through their most essential tasks—participating in forums, booking therapy sessions, practicing mindfulness, and completing emotional check-ins—while minimizing steps to reduce friction.
Understanding that the users may be dealing with mental and emotional challenges, I prioritized clarity and accessibility in the design. Less frequent tasks, like updating profile information or browsing resources, are organized in secondary menus to keep the primary interface focused on essential functions.
Low-fidelity wireframe
Focusing on essential layout and structure.
At this point in the project, I developed low-fidelity wireframes to outline the app’s core features and flow. These early sketches helped to quickly visualize the basic design without getting caught up in details, allowing for rapid feedback and refinement. The emphasis was on creating an intuitive, user-centered experience that aligned with our personas’ needs. This phase ensured we could make informed adjustments before advancing to more detailed, high-fidelity designs.
Brainstorming /sketching
Initial prototype feedback: I began by creating low-fidelity wireframes and shared them with a small group of target users. Their feedback highlighted confusion with the sketches and would prefer to test in the mid-fidelity design.
Mid-fidelity usability testing: I began During testing, users appreciated the clear layout but found navigation between community support and therapy features a bit confusing. They suggested clearer labels and more customization for daily check-ins. Many users also wanted the emergency helpline to be more prominent and easily accessible. Lastly, they asked for a simple progress tracker for mindfulness exercises or therapy sessions to help them stay engaged and motivated. These insights will guide our next design revisions.
High-fidelity wireframe
High-fidelity mockup refinements: I During the high-fidelity prototype testing, users appreciated the clean and calming design, which aligned well with the app’s purpose of supporting women through traumatic pre-birth and postpartum experiences. The personalization features in the daily check-ins and the ease of navigating between peer support forums and professional therapy services were highlighted as key strengths. Overall, the design successfully enhanced user engagement while maintaining a sense of simplicity and emotional comfort.
Project takeaways
A better understanding of concepts when applied in the real world.
This project allowed me to:
- Gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of postpartum mental health and how trauma can deeply affect a woman’s emotional recovery.
- Design with empathy by always centering the user’s emotional needs and creating safe spaces for their healing
- Develop a niche mental health solution, offering a service where women can find community and professional support tailored to their unique struggles.
- Create a product that educates and empowers both women and their support systems, ensuring that mental health is prioritized just as much as physical recovery in the postpartum experience.