BYTE-SIZED INFO
tl;dr
BloomWell is an integrated maternal wellness ecosystem that combines wearable microneedle sensor technology with a collaborative mobile platform to monitor postpartum health and stress markers in real-time.
I primarily worked on the design of the shared mobile interface which translates physiological data (such as cortisol levels) into actionable "support nudges" for a mother’s partner and family.
This aimed at reducing the cognitive and communication burden on new mothers by enabling their support systems to provide proactive, data-informed care during the postpartum recovery period.
RESEARCH
Understanding The Context
New mothers navigate a complex and often isolating postpartum landscape characterized by invisible physiological stress and emotional fatigue.
Well-intentioned partners and family members often want to help but lack the real-time awareness or data to know when or how to intervene.
This forces the mother to take on the additional cognitive task of identifying her own needs and articulating them, which often leads to a breakdown in support and increased household tension.
USER INTERVIEW QUOTES
What the Mothers have to say...
"Something that could help fathers and other family members learn how to take care of the kid better, eg, if the kid is crying do this."
"Sometimes you wish they (the family) understood unsaid things."
"Motherhood comes with a lot of emotional challenges, especially guilt, like leaving the baby in a daycare or with someone."
PROBLEM FRAMING
How might we design a technological intervention for the support system (family, friends, etc.) of new mothers and help them create a safe environment for the mother to heal emotionally and physically?
INITIAL ITERATIONS
Experimentation with Wearable Tech
During ideation, we found a similarity among all our sketches and that was the use of wearable technology to detect stress. We decided to dive a little deeper into the kinds of wearable technology that measure cortisol levels and are safe to use by mothers.
THE DESIGN
Breaking 'em down
#1 Onboarding
Herein, the mother would be able to add her details and fill in the support system contacts. Additionally, there is an option for the mother to control what data she wants to share with her support system.
#2 Monitoring Stress Levels
We would find a baseline for the mother's stress level using an aptamer-responsive microneedle patch. The patch will utilize hybridization chain reaction (HCR) amplification to detect cortisol via skin interstitial fluid.
#2 Baby Guide
We also included a baby guide to include the whole support system in the development of the child. This was tied to our mother’s interview insight which was ‘The support system wanted to help me but at times, did things that would in turn mess things up’.
POST DESIGN PHASE
Usability Testing
We tested our designs from both the stakeholder's viewpoints, that is, the mother as well as the support systems. This helped us realize some limitations and even some edge cases regarding our solution.
DRAG TO MOVE AROUND AND READ
POST USABILITY TESTING
You Are Not Alone
Incorporating feedback
We realized that just showing the mother her stress levels was not enough; in some cases, it might make matters worse as she might not know what to do about it.
This prompted us to include an additional section (highlighted in the image) that would reassure her that what she is going through is not something that is specific to her.
SELF REFLECTION
My Learnings
Empathy before intervention.
Understanding how mothers navigate stress allowed us to frame physiological feedback as validation and permission to pause, rather than an alarm.
Design for shared understanding.
Making stress visible to trusted support systems created a shared language of care, reducing the burden of asking for help.
Build systems that last.
Designing for evolving motherhood needs and long-term sustainability ensured the product grows with the user, not just a single moment.
