Expecting & Informed: A Map of Pregnancy Health Resources
It’s incredible to see the ecosystem that has emerged around supporting women through pregnancy — from traditional healthcare providers, to new digital health solutions, and seemingly endless online resources and content.
This massive ecosystem means that there’s a LOT for women to navigate across their pregnancy journey! It can be overwhelming to find and access the right healthcare services and sort through the flood of consumer-facing information (and sometimes, misinformation) to inform health, wellness and lifestyle choices during pregnancy.
Why can it be so challenging to find and access the resources and information needed during pregnancy, when there is so much available? One key challenge is the highly fragmented nature of the U.S.’s maternal health landscape.
Beyond the standard OB/GYNs, hospitals, and personal support networks, countless companies and organizations have emerged to provide additional services and information to pregnant people — all in the aim of supporting women with healthier, safer pregnancies and neonatal outcomes. This landscape becomes even more complicated when considering additional factors outside of or adjacent to an individual’s pregnancy — whether seeking fertility and family planning support in advance of a pregnancy, or managing an existing health condition alongside pregnancy.
To help make sense of it all, we’ve outlined the key players in maternal health — focusing on what a pregnant person encounters while seeking care and information (we haven’t included, for example, all of the incredible organizations supporting fertility and pregnancy outcomes in a B2B or purely provider-facing model).
This post covers two core areas: 1) healthcare services and 2) consumer-facing resources, and the types of resources within each. We also briefly explore what to watch out for in terms of potential misinformation — while most pregnancy-related content may have positive intent, it’s critical to always look with a keen eye to validate the credibility (is it backed by real research or studies?) and relevance (is this appropriate advice for my specific situation?) of advice being provided online, especially when considering important and personal health decisions.
Read on for a breakdown of available support, or jump to a section directly:
And send us a note if we’re missing any — let us know what health resources have been most helpful in your experience!
1. Healthcare Services
This section covers healthcare delivery — individual practitioners and companies who are focused on providing healthcare to pregnant people.
Traditional Providers and Practitioners
Before diving into the specialized clinics and digital health options available to pregnant people, it’s worth noting the sheer number of individual healthcare providers involved in supporting maternal and neonatal health. These providers span across the physical and emotional aspects of the pregnancy journey — from preconception through childbirth and into postpartum recovery. Cost and payment options for these services can differ based on provider, location, insurance type, and specific medical recommendations/necessity. These providers are available to pregnant people through the traditional routes of local health systems and provider group networks.
The following core providers are most likely to be covered by insurance:
- OB/GYN: A medical doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, providing care during pregnancy and managing delivery.
- Midwife: A trained professional offering care during pregnancy and managing delivery, focusing on natural childbirth options and support for low-risk patients.
- Therapist / Psychiatrist: Mental health professionals providing therapy and/or medication for mental health conditions related to pregnancy (e.g., postpartum depression).
Additional specialists may be covered by insurance, depending on the plan details and medical needs of the patient:
- Physical Therapist/Pelvic Floor Therapist: A healthcare provider focusing on strengthening or rehabilitating the pelvic floor through tailored exercises.
- Birth Doula: A non-medical, trained professional complementing OB/GYN or Midwife care, providing emotional and physical support during labor and delivery, and helping the birthing person advocate for their preferences.
- Lactation Consultant: A specialist in breastfeeding and infant nutrition, guiding new mothers on breastfeeding techniques and helping resolve challenges.
- Nutritionist: A dietary expert guiding to ensure optimal nutrition to support maternal and infant health.
Some providers are unlikely to be covered by insurance:
- Postpartum Doula: A trained individual supporting the family after birth, assisting with newborn care, household tasks, and providing emotional support during the adjustment period.
- Night Nurse: A caregiver providing overnight care for the newborn, allowing parents to rest, and offering assistance with breastfeeding support.
- Acupuncturist: A practitioner offering alternative therapies for various pregnancy-related symptoms, pain relief, and promoting overall wellness.
Holistic Maternity Care Clinics
Some modern maternity clinics offer a comprehensive solution, providing a full range of services across provider types — from prenatal care to postpartum support and traditional gynecology services. These clinics have OB/GYNs and midwives at the clinic and collaborate with local hospital systems for labor and delivery. Plus, these clinics often offer additional services to provide more holistic and complete support, such as parenting groups, lactation consultants, and nutritionists (in-person or virtually). Most of these services are covered by in-network insurance options, with some supplemental services offered for an out-of-pocket expense. However, today, these clinics are limited in the geographies they serve.
📌Examples: Oula Health, Diana Health, Millie Clinic
Maternity Wrap-Around Solutions
For those who already have a trusted OB/GYN and/or midwife, additional services and information are often needed outside of regular appointments. This is where wrap-around solutions come in — they don’t replace OB/GYNs or midwives; instead, they provide comprehensive services to support the pregnancy journey between in-person visits.
These solutions offer virtual (in some cases, 24/7) support from an interdisciplinary care team, which might include physicians, nurses, care navigators, therapists, dietitians, lactation consultants, and others. Several companies (like Pomelo Care and Cayaba Care) also offer in-person doula services. Typically, these services are covered by insurance or provided via employer benefits. Since many of these solutions are digital, there is broad geographic coverage.
📌Examples: Maven Clinic, Pomelo Care, Delfina, Cayaba Care
Point Solutions
Point solutions fulfill a specific pregnancy-related need rather than supporting people with their entire pregnancy experience. These point solutions might be offered (or referred out) by traditional healthcare providers and health systems (as in the above section) or by standalone organizations dedicated to supporting specific challenges within maternal health (which we have highlighted below). Many of the pregnancy point solutions below have options that are covered by insurance plans.
Fertility and Hormonal Care
For many people, the pregnancy journey begins with fertility. Many groups are innovating in the fertility space, offering everything from IVF and egg freezing to financial payment plans, 24/7 texting with a nurse, and virtual care for endometriosis and PCOS.
📌Examples: Progyny, Allara, Conceive, Cofertility
Mental Health
People may seek mental health support to address anxiety, depression, or trauma during the pregnancy journey, from pre-conception through postpartum. While many general mental health providers treat parents, there are new services dedicated to tailored approaches for maternity populations.
📌Example: Seven Starling, Mavida Health
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Pelvic floor therapists can help people prepare for birth or support postpartum recovery. Several virtual providers offer pelvic floor therapy, with insurance coverage available.
📌Examples: Origin, Bloom by Sword Health, Hinge Health
Nutrition
Nutritionists or meal delivery services can help support a healthy pregnancy and postpartum period. New startups offer virtual nutritionists, often covered by insurance.
📌Examples: Nourish, Fay, Culina Health, Chiyo
Lactation
Lactation consultants can support breastfeeding, while milk banks pasteurize and distribute milk to homes and hospitals. Some public databases are available to help new mothers find assistance with lactation, whether to find certified lactation consultants (e.g., The Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice) or certified milk banks (e.g., the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA)). Additionally, new point solutions are emerging to support the lactation and baby-feeding needs of new mothers.
📌Examples: SimpliFed, The Lactation Network
Devices and Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote Patient Monitoring systems (RPM) and various devices can help monitor the health and well-being of both mother and baby. Medical providers might prescribe at-home remote patient monitoring tools and devices for some pregnant people, such as blood pressure cuffs for those at risk of preeclampsia or glucometers for those with gestational diabetes. Providers might also prescribe fetal monitoring devices, such as INVU by Nuvo, an FDA-approved device.
📌Examples: blood pressure cuffs, glucometers, Nuvo, Bloomlife
2. Consumer-Facing Content and Resources
In addition to direct care delivery, there are vast sources for informational content and support. Beyond the wealth of information shared anecdotally through word-of-mouth from friends, family, and the community, as well as on social media, many other targeted sources of content and resources are available to pregnant people as consumers.
Pregnancy Apps and Websites
An ever-growing number of websites and apps are dedicated to supporting women through pregnancy. These resources can cover everything from cycle tracking and fertility planning, to comparing your baby to the size of a fruit and recording pregnancy symptoms, to offering baby gift registries, peer engagement and social forums, and article content.
📌Examples: What to Expect, TheBump, BabyCenter, Sprout, BabyList, Pregnancy+
Community Groups and Resources
In addition to organic, in-person community groups and gatherings of pregnant peers (via group chats or local meeting groups), there are national organizations dedicated to providing support to pregnant and new moms — either offering local chapters of structured peer support, or culturally informed support digitally.
📌Examples: Health In Her Hue, Maeve
Social Media
Social media is an increasingly popular channel for pregnant people to seek community and information, given the ease of access and personalization. Peer support and a judgement-free environment to discuss symptoms, questions and experiences are common reasons why pregnant people turn to social sites for health information. These platforms contain huge amounts of content, with varying levels of credibility and scientific legitimacy — ranging from anonymous crowd-sourced support for specific questions or concerns on sites like Reddit, to influencers and content creation (some created by healthcare providers!) targeting specific topics of interest, such as #TTC (trying to conceive) or “What I Eat in a Day w/ gestational diabetes.”
📌Examples: Reddit, Instagram, TikTok
Books and Podcasts
There are many books written from various angles, aiming to provide information to prepare expecting parents for the pregnancy and birth experience. Ranging from What to Expect When You’re Expecting (a long-time staple) to Expecting Better by Emily Oster (focused on debunking common pregnancy myths with real data), there are hundreds of books on family planning, pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting.
Examples: What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Expecting Better, Bumpin’
On the podcast front, shows cover everything from evidence-based recommendations to personal birth stories.
📌Examples: Is it Normal?, The Birth Hour, ParentData
Parenting and Baby Devices
Several baby tech devices help parents monitor their children and provide data-driven insights through a connected app. These devices range from smart crib monitors to sound and light machines and even smart socks that monitor a baby’s vital signs while they are sleeping! Smart breast bumps allow women to pump breastmilk hands-free and connect to an app that provides insights on volume and timing, supporting the early feeding and lactation journey.
📌Examples: Nanit, Owlet, Elvie, Willow
Wearables
People are using wearables to monitor their vital signs at home. Following the general increase in wearables use, companies are taking note and providing tailored offerings for pregnancy. For example, Oura has a new “Pregnancy Insights” feature, which helps pregnant people track and learn from physiological changes.
Pregnancy-Focused Organizations and Nonprofits
Numerous organizations and nonprofits are dedicated to supporting pregnancy through advocacy, education, and support. They focus on issues ranging from professional development for clinicians to research to patient assistance and public health advocacy, aiming to tackle health disparities and improve the quality of care.
📌Examples: March of Dimes, HER Foundation
Condition-Specific Organizations and Nonprofits
Some condition-specific organizations and nonprofits have resources for navigating the fertility and pregnancy journey. For example, the American Diabetes Association publishes guidelines on specific considerations for managing pregnancy (pre-pregnancy through postpartum) for diabetes patients.
These condition-specific pregnancy resources are especially common in areas where the condition has high incidence or disproportionate effects on women of childbearing age, such as inflammatory or autoimmune conditions.
📌Examples: American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Crohn’s + Colitis Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Medical and Professional Organization Resources
Some prominent health systems publish consumer/patient-facing pregnancy health resources to provide women with clinically informed resources on common pregnancy health topics. Additionally, professional organizations for care providers serving pregnant people often have resources — such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which publishes a patient-facing section of their site focused on pregnancy-related content.
📌Examples: ACOG, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, MotherToBaby
Public Health Resources
U.S. government agencies provide various maternal health resources for patients and providers. Here are some of the government resources helping to support pregnant people.
- National Maternal Mental Health Hotline–free, confidential support during pregnancy and post-partum
- LactMed–information on drugs and chemicals for breastfeeding women, published by the NIH
- Medicaid and CHIP–health insurance for pregnant women and children
- WIC: USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children–free healthy food, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, and referrals
- USDA My Plate–nutrition guidance for pregnancy and breastfeeding
3. Misinformation
Above, we’ve outlined a wealth of resources and groups with a shared mission of supporting women through healthy, safe, and positive pregnancies.
However, as with many other topics, there is considerable misinformation and heavily biased information available online on pregnancy-related topics. While there may not be nefarious intent behind content with misinformation, it can be challenging to quickly assess and pick out what is medically / scientifically sound from content without data or evidence supporting its credibility.
Social media is an increasingly important resource for many pregnant people — often providing community and peer support, and ample access to information. While social media can be beneficial in engaging directly with pregnant peers or experts in the field, it can also be a significant source of misinformation. As just one example, a recent study found that more than half of the most popular videos tagged “TTC” (or “trying to conceive”) on TikTok lacked scientific evidence.
Beyond the known perils of the potential for misinformation on social media, some organizations that appear neutral at first glance can actually have biased objectives — and are not reliable as neutral, evidence-based sources of information. For instance, crisis pregnancy centers bill themselves as reproductive healthcare clinics, but their goal is often to dissuade individuals from seeking specific types of reproductive care.
Knowing that there’s considerable misinformation out there, it’s critical for pregnant people to be mindful of how information is being presented, and look out for signs of credibility (such as cited research studies or clinical guidelines) in information shared online.
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As you can see, the landscape of providers, organizations, and companies aiming to support pregnancy health is extensive! Stay tuned for the next installment of this resource: we’ll be launching an interactive resource map of all of the companies and organizations across the categories outlined in this article — aiming to be a helpful starting point for pregnant people seeking options and information.
Our mission at Zenith is to enable healthier, more confident pregnancies by empowering pregnant people with the data they need — and to build the largest maternal health evidence base ever assembled, unlocking expanded data and research in pregnancy health. If this resonates with you, join our waitlist to be notified when we’re live — or reach out to see if you’re eligible for our early access beta program!
Acknowledgements: A special thanks to Kaiya Adam for her contributions in organizing, outlining, and mapping all of these resources, and to Carissa Folgers and Amanda Poole for their thoughtful review and insights!
