US pregnancy care platform bags US$2.4m to ‘redefine’ maternal health

Aster aims to address the alarming rates of maternal mortality in the US, particularly among marginalised groups.

The app helps women keep track of their pregnancy, providing continuous at-home monitoring for mothers pre and post-natal, 24/6 support as well as accessible clinical guidance.

According to Aster, the significance of remote monitoring lies in its potential to detect key risks like gestational hypertension and diabetes early, contributing to both prevention and early treatment, ultimately reducing maternal mortality rates.

This initiative is timely, given the challenging state of maternal healthcare in the US, where closures are widespread, and the need is particularly high in states like Alabama, Alaska, Ohio and Maryland.

“We believe the only way to reverse the decades-long downward trajectory of women’s health outcomes is to re-design, and rebuild the underlying stack that powers women’s health,” said Fifi Kara, Aster co-founder and CEO.

“At Aster we are addressing the full cycle of maternal care from conception to delivery to postpartum. Instead of the increasing fragmentation in care delivery, we are improving it at source, where the core elements of care happen.

“We are bringing software solutions to a group that has traditionally been underserved and overlooked.”

The funding round, led by Cake Ventures and Cornerstone VC with participation from Zeal Capital Partners, Octopus Ventures, Sterling Road, Blueprint and Everywhere Ventures, is hoped to help the team transition the platform out of the pilot phase, with a goal of onboarding 100 clinics by the end of the year.

Monique Woodard, general partner of Cake Ventures, said: “With the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income countries, it is unacceptable that pregnancy for American women can still feel like a dangerous undertaking, and the data shows that the situation is even worse for Black women.

“The Aster team are the right founders to tackle this important problem through technology and personal experience.”