- Leading insurance-covered doula network with hybrid in-person and virtual support expanding nationwide
- Flourish Care is meeting demand as the majority of states rapidly mandate insurance reimbursement for doula care, removing the biggest barrier to maternal support
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#FemTech—Flourish Care, the maternal healthcare platform with the leading doula network, today announced $5.7 million in oversubscribed seed financing led by Zeal Capital Partners with participation from Create Health Ventures, Collide Capital, Rogue Women’s Fund, Symphonic Capital, Slater Technology Fund, Catalytic Impact Foundation, Capita3, and others.
Forty-six states are actively reimbursing or in the process of implementing doula coverage, and Flourish Care is scaling nationwide to meet demand, with a new model of maternity care that integrates credentialed, community-based doulas into the healthcare system. Flourish Care is now available to more than 20 million covered lives through national and regional commercial health plans and Medicaid.
“When I was pregnant with my first child, I saw how much of maternal care happens between clinical visits and how unsupported women feel in those gaps. Now, with almost every state enacting reimbursement pathways for doula care, we have built the infrastructure to make sure every family can access that support,” said Melissa Bowley, founder and CEO of Flourish Care. “Maternal healthcare significantly improves when a doula is involved, yet they have been out of reach for too many families. That ends now as we expand nationwide.”
Before Flourish Care, Bowley spent two decades as a biomedical engineer working on medical devices for women’s health and regenerative medicine. After using a doula during her first pregnancy, Bowley made it her mission to make continuous, personalized doula support the standard of care.
Flourish Care has one of the largest high-quality doula networks in the country and has supported thousands of families since its founding in 2020. The technology platform matches families with doulas, delivers a hybrid of virtual and in-person support, and powers referrals, care coordination, and insurance reimbursement. By easily integrating into the existing workflows of health plans, obstetrics, hospitals, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and community organizations, Flourish Care helps improve maternal outcomes and reduce unnecessary and costly interventions. The company is building an AI-driven risk-prediction engine using clinical and community-reported data to help healthcare systems identify patients who may benefit from additional support earlier in pregnancy.
“The policy and payer landscape has finally caught up to what families have always needed. Flourish Care is building the scalable model that will fundamentally integrate doula care into clinical workflows, insurance networks, and women’s lives,” said Nasir Qadree, founder and managing partner of Zeal Capital Partners. “We’re proud to partner with Melissa and her team as they bring equitable, high-quality doula care into the mainstream.”
Doula Care Proven to Improve Outcomes and Equity, and Curb Costs
The United States has some of the highest maternal health risks among developed countries. Complications related to pregnancy and childbirth cost the U.S. an estimated $32.3 billion from pregnancy through the child’s fifth birthday. Research shows that prevention-focused maternal care, including doula support, generates multiple times its cost in savings by reducing cesarean deliveries, preterm births, and NICU admissions.
Doulas are trained, non-clinical professionals who provide continuous physical, emotional, and educational support to families between clinical visits during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. More than 500 peer-reviewed studies show the benefits of integrating doula care into traditional obstetrics for the more than 3.6 million babies every year. For instance, for Medicaid members, doula care has been associated with a 47% lower risk of cesarean delivery (which costs, on average, two times more than vaginal birth); a 29% lower risk of preterm birth; and a 50% reduction in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admissions (which cost, on average, more than $72,000) compared with members without doula support.
“When doulas are integrated into systems and covered by insurance, families, providers, and health plans benefit from vastly better outcomes and experiences. The largest national payers are partnering with Flourish Care, and women’s health organizations are choosing it as their doula network because the model is rigorously tested and clinically proven to be effective,” said Emma Cartmell, managing partner of Create Health Ventures. “Mothers can trust they are working with credentialed, high-quality doulas, and the demand for Flourish Care in the market reflects it.”
Flourish Care’s broader leadership team brings extensive experience across medical devices, digital health platforms, and women’s health innovation. Board members include Bari Harlam, formerly with CVS Health, and recently added Emma Cartmell, who has extensive experience scaling early-stage companies.
About Flourish Care
Flourish Care is a maternal healthcare platform with the leading expert doula network, combining in-person and virtual care in partnership with providers to improve maternal outcomes and reduce costs. Flourish Care is available as a covered benefit across major commercial insurers and Medicaid. For more information, visit www.flourishcommunitycare.com and follow on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Contacts
Media Contact:
Gina Manassero
PR Consultant
(512) 850-4418
press@flourishcommunitycare.com
