About
An end-to-end case study for app for women going through pregnancy and postpartum recovery
My Role
User Experience Design
Prototyping
Research
Team
UX Designer
Product Manager
Business Analyst
University of Michigan
Tech Innovation Jam is organized by Ross School of Business, School of Engineering and School of Information in the University of Michigan
The Competition
It's a 5 week hackathon designed to mimic a real-world tech team where we pitch a solution to a problem with a business plan to investors
95% of the women indicated they felt
unsupported
during their pregnancy
and postpartum recovery
🔎 Focus on Pregnancy and Postpartum
Since the verdict was almost 50-50, we decided to focus on both: Pregnancy and postpartum recovery
⛔️ Let go of Pre Pregnancy
Since from our survey we didn't find alot of people struggling with this stage of the process, we decided not to go forward with it at this stage of the development
Women want
reliable information
and
emotional support
Conducted interviews to gather personal insights into the emotional, physical, and mental challenges women face during pregnancy and postpartum recovery, enabling us to better understand their needs and pain points.
Social media is full of information, but how do I know what's actually true?
I couldn’t keep calling my OBGYN every time I had a question, I felt so helpless and Google would just freak me out
Online communities are full of mom-shaming. It really affected my mental health.
After giving birth, no one cared about me. I was depressed, but couldn’t talk to anyone about it
Users unable to
reach the right audience
and there's a lack of
content
moderation
We conducted a content analysis by exploring social media platforms such as Reddit, Instagram, and Facebook to better understand the conversations and challenges women face during pregnancy and postpartum recovery.
We did it to identify the pain points and recurring themes in online discussions, uncovering gaps in support, misinformation, and the overall reliability of the advice shared in these spaces.
No comments
Not reaching the right audience
Emotional support
Testimonials
can’t relate or haven’t experienced certain symptoms
😶🌫️ Unanswered posts
Many questions and concerns raised by users were left unanswered, leaving individuals without reliable guidance.
⚠️ Misinformation
Misinformed suggestions were frequently shared and there appeared to be no repercussions for spreading incorrect information.
🤬 Mom shaming
Individuals would often shame other moms, or pass snarky comments, which would make moms feel very bad
Apps ignore
ignore postpartum recovery
and do not focus on building
real connections
Did this to understand:
How current solutions address the challenges of pregnancy and postpartum recovery.
What features are working well and where they fall short.
Opportunities to create a more comprehensive and supportive solution.
Make
AI powered features
to solve pain points and curate a
personalised
experience
Trustworthy Companion
Provides answers from verified sources with citations.
Uses natural language
Connects users to experts or community members.
Moderated Community
Flags unreliable content
Removes any hate posts or comments
Personalized Curation
Matches moms based on common ground
Curates personalized resource recommendations
Refined Ideas with
low fidelity wireframes
for quick testing and feedback
AI Chatbot
Tracker
Explore
Profile
Community
Avoiding
repeptition of information
❌
Before
✅
After
Both tabs have similar info,
What is the difference between these two tabs?
Ahhh now i get it!
Building
stronger connection
Felt impersonal with one-sided interactions.
lacking genuine, meaningful engagement.
Encourages intentional, meaningful engagement.
Aligns with our vision of fostering a trusted and supportive community.
Before
❌
✅
After
Making Chatbot
easier to use and engaing
I don’t know if I completely trust the answer. How do i know if AI isn’t making this information up?
This seems better, I can check the source of the information
❌
Before
✅
After
Helpful chatbot with
trusted answers
Verify with reliable sources to avoid misinformation
Provides various options, allowing users to choose based on their preferences
Tailored suggestions based on user posts and activities, seamlessly integrated across all app features.
Track your progress and find
personalised support nearby
Track symptoms daily to monitor recovery progress and compare data with moms at the same stage for reassurance.
Curated directory of local resources tailored to moms' needs, with filters for personalized preferences.
Building meaningful connections through
shared experiences
Discover moms through categories like “Near Me” or shared experiences for meaningful connections.
AI highlights commonalities on profiles and offers prompts to foster deeper 1:1 connections and better understanding between moms.
Creating a
safe and supportve
community
Moderation in community ensures respectful interactions and reliable information for a safe and positive environment.
Ensures a trustworthy and supportive community by identifying and tagging posts that may contain unverified information.
All the final userflows
Earned
Runner Up and Audience Choice Award
This project was an incredible journey of innovation, collaboration, and dedication. We are proud to have earned the Runner-Up Position and the Audience Choice Award, recognizing both the impact of our work and the support it resonated with. We are excited to see how our project continues to inspire and create value in the future.
Be okay with
ambiguity
One key lesson I learned was embracing vagueness and uncertainty. At the start, we weren’t sure what to work on, and the ambiguity felt overwhelming. However, as time went on, listening to the experiences of those around us provided clarity and direction. This led us to focus on creating a product that supports women during pregnancy, turning uncertainty into an opportunity for meaningful impact.
Video
explanation