American telehealth platform secures US$2.4m to reimagine prenatal and postpartum care

Ruth Health, an American telehealth platform for women, announces its $2.4 million seed funding round led by Giant Ventures.

The collective investment highlights the demand for accessible, inclusive and comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care for American women, bringing Ruth Health’s total funding to $3.1 million.

Through its suite of remote patient services, including pelvic floor training, lactation counselling, C-section recovery resources, sexual support and exercises on demand, performed by certified and experienced providers for pregnant or recently pregnant women, Ruth Health aims to challenge an outdated medical system, empowering women with empathy, education and support.

“Pregnancy care outside of the hospital or clinic setting is critical to the wellbeing of womankind, but it’s currently fractured, variable in quality and filled with hurtful, alienating and misinformed stigmas,” says Alison Greenberg, Ruth Health’s co-founder and CEO.

“Our mission is to make women’s healthcare an accessible, superior quality and even joyful experience for everyone,” she continues. “It’s an honour to provide these long-overdue services with the women’s anatomy and experience at the centre of a simple, welcoming, evidence-based telehealth platform that does not shy away from cultural taboos while elevating the female voice.”

The female-founded company boasts a cap table of primarily women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ investors, signalling the truth that women are ready and able to develop, drive and invest in the future of their healthcare, a sector historically defined by men.

Led by founders Greenberg and Audrey Wu, Ruth Health was created to address the huge, costly gaps in American pregnancy care, as evidenced by this country’s rising maternal mortality rates and frustratingly segmented after-birth care continuum.

The Ruth Health platform works as an extension of a patient’s existing primary care physician and/or OBGYN, rather than replacing them, and it offers women the comprehensive care they need to enhance the birthing experience, improve quality of life and accelerate holistic healing and recovery without judgment.

“Through our work, we aim to not only improve maternal health outcomes in America but to also reduce the Pregnancy Tax. Women pay steeply in time, money, and career to have babies,” explains Wu.

“There is no equity across gender, race, sexuality, or other factors when it comes to social determinants of health without greater access to birth workers.

“Meaningful, supportive, comprehensive care – both prenatal, postpartum and beyond the traditional OBGYN scope – can and must be easier and more accessible for all.”

For more information, visit ruthhealth.com.