Auntie

Co-Founder Ashleigh Riehl shares some exciting news about our friend Cathy Battle from the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank!! Congratulations Cathy!

Finally! An official acknowledgment of what we all know to be true! Parenting has always been hard, but the current environment makes it even more so. It’s time for change at the federal, state, and private levels. Shall we do something about this? What do you think of the statement by the Surgeon General? Do you feel optimistic that it will bring about any change?

It’s official! Auntie has graduated and is ready for the big world! On May 11, 2024, Ashleigh Riehl, Ellen Lee, and Mengtan Xu joined Shilpa Jais-Stewart, MBA as graduates from Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business with a Master degree of Business Administration. It was a brutal 2.5 years of class, homework, and group projects on top of full-time jobs, family, and life. But in the midst of all that academic, professional, and domestic pressure, a startup was born! Like all newborns, Auntie started out unfocused on the world around herself and full of promise. She was born to help new mothers but she had so much potential to go in so many directions. Would she monitor the mother’s biometrics through wearable devices? Would she be a virtual community? Would she be a physical testing kit, or a “mommy hotel”, or a postpartum doula service? Would she be a chatbot or a nurse or a therapist? She could be any of these things! Through our time in the MBA Entrepreneurship Capstone program, the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, and Project Olympus CMU, we were extremely lucky to have had the guidance of so many wonderful professors and mentors. We are thankful for Craig Markovitz, Allison Braund-Harris, Kit Needham, Lynne E. Porter, MD, FACP, Dawn Rucker, Michael Annichine, Christine Ferguson-Rau, William Kaigler, and Sean Ammirati. We are incredibly grateful for the Tepper MBA staff, the Swartz Center and Project Olympus staff, and our brilliant classmates who have supported us since the beginning. With everyone’s help, we conducted about 150 customer interviews within a few months and ran a proof of concept trial with 14 couples. Ultimately, we settled on the goal of helping new mothers vocalize her unspoken needs to her partner and empowering them both to be the best partners and parents that they can be. We are currently in our beta design phase and looking forward to getting Auntie into the hands of new parents in the Fall of 2024. If you want to stay updated on our progress, please join our Friends & Family Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/ep3eDfrS

Pregnancy and motherhood cause such dramatic changes to the brain that it may be as significant a neurodevelopmental period as early childhood and adolescence. Emerging research suggests that, although postpartum depression has commonly been linked to hormonal fluctuations, the immune system may play a much larger role than previously known. Learn more:  https://lnkd.in/gEXkM6Aj Pregnancy-related depression is a significant contributor to preventable maternal deaths. The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline is available by call or text at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). TTY users can use a preferred relay service or dial 711 and then 1-833-852-6262. This is a 24/7, free, confidential hotline for pregnant and new parents in English and Spanish. #healthcare #equity #pregnancy #maternalhealth #mentalhealth

"In the face of societal shortcomings in supporting parents and their babies, Auntie acknowledges that it can't single-handedly address all these challenges. However, our aim is to build a foundation and pathway for individuals to share their postpartum journeys within their own communities and, eventually, society as a whole. Parenthood was never meant to be a solitary endeavor. It’s a transformative experience that I would argue is vital to be shared. We started Auntie because we saw that within women’s health, postpartum is the least supported time in a woman’s life." Read more about Auntie's journey in redefining parenthood: https://lnkd.in/exq6mRkk

Calling all moms-to-be and postpartum warriors! Join Auntie's beta-testing adventure and experience groundbreaking support with your chosen primary support partner. 💪 Be part of revolutionizing maternal care! You can register through this link here -> https://lnkd.in/gQkUD_nR. Let's shape the future together! 🚀 #BetaTesting  #MaternalCare  #MomBetaJourney #postpartumrevolution #postpartum #postpartumlife #postpartumrecovery #mentalhealth #lifeofaSAHM #newbornphase #dadlife #momlife

As a female-led startup, it was important to our co-founders that we enter into the AI conversation to help influence how AI can be used for good and for all. We’ll never have an equitable world if underrepresented populations are not part of the discussion. We celebrate the amazing women who spoke up and built incredible technologies that will change every aspect of society! Without you, we would still be dreaming. #startup #womenshealth #womensupportingwomen #artificialintelligence