Building the MVP for a Maternal Mental Health App

Product Design

Design Sprints

Role

UX Designer

Team

Tools

Industry

HealthTech

Overview

In collaboration with a dynamic Design Sprint team, I helped prototype and refine a mobile-first resource hub dedicated to supporting Black maternal mental health. This project required a fast-paced, iterative approach to ensure the platform effectively met the needs of its users.

The Goal

To serve as an unbiased and trustworthy resource that is centered on the true needs of the community. We are dedicated to supporting Black and other people of color who do not receive equitable and culturally responsive care. We achieve this by continuously providing vetted resources and up-to-date information for those seeking help and assistance.

Project Structure

This project worked in 2-week Sprint cycles, with 3 hour workshops with the team and client.

Principles & Questions that Led the Way

Throughout the entirety of the project, we kept the following guiding principles and critical questions at the forefront of all designs and considerations

Guiding Policies

Critical Questions

Auditing the Existing Experience

We began by gaining insight into Black mothers' experiences and challenges during pregnancy and postpartum

The Main Challenges

Limited Availability of Mental Health Providers

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Especially for those on Medicaid

Lack of Education & Awareness around Postpartum Mental Health

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Specifically in women of color communities`

Misconceptions about the Cost of Mental Health Care

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Leading to avoidance of seeking help

Insufficient Mental Health Screenings during Prenatal Visits

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Many clinicians do not address mental health adquetly or even test for it

Lightening demos

Fine-Tuning the Client's Vision

Before creating our own solutions, we asked the client to find inspiring examples of organizations that solved the same (or similar) challenges

Lightening demos

Starting to Visualize

We then worked with the client to start putting together low-fidelity sketches.

Pixel-Perfect Design

Building a Prototype for User Testing Rounds

With a robust foundation grounded in the client’s initial visualizations, it was time to create a high-fidelity prototype, strategically designed to validate key user flows and inform iterative improvements through usability testing.

Prototype: Iteration 1

Designs and prototype based on the findings in the Design Sprint. This is the prototype that was used during user tests.

Synthesized user feedback

After the user tests, the user researcher compiled important insights and findings. From this analysis, I iterated on the designs to create a design/prototype that met all of the MVP requirements

Prototype: Iteration 2

The final result after iterating based on the synthesized user research

Notable Changes Between Iterations

Premium offerings delivered by our top experts.

Added in a questionnaire

We implemented a dynamic questionnaire that assesses where each mother is in her journey. This allowed us to deliver highly personalized resources & support, ensuring that every interaction with the platform felt relevant, empathetic, and impactful.

Instructional video of what to expect

We added the video to give mothers a sense of comfort and an idea of what to expect from the app

More versatile navigation

Instead of asking which stage of birth the mother is in on the dashboard, we moved it to the questionnaire and then added in an option to toggle between stages on the dashboard

Designs

High-Fidelity Designs

After another round of feedback, it was time to create the final designs for the MVP

Support, Insights, & Care -
All in One Place

The Dashboard offers personalized resources tailored to every mother’s journey. From curated recommendations and stage-specific guides—like pregnancy, postpartum, and loss—to mental health support for anxiety, depression, and more, it provides quick, intuitive access to the right support at the right time.

Curated Resources & Insights for Every Step of Motherhood

The Educational Tools section offers mothers a centralized hub of curated articles and resources, providing accessible, reliable information tailored to every stage of motherhood.

Articles

Informative articles that mothers or mothers-to-be can reference when they are uncertain

Education Hub

All educational content lives here. Some of which include real-life stories, videos, articles, and more

Experience Support on Both Mobile & Desktop

To ensure accessible support for all mothers, regardless of demographic or access to smartphones, the MVP scope was strategically expanded to include a desktop experience, broadening reach and inclusivity

Project outcomes

Successfully Addressing all Critical Questions through Design

Once the final prototype was completed, we revisited our critical questions to ensure that we met all of the necessary criteria

Question 1

RECRUITERS

Can we increase enrollment in Maternal Mental Health services?

Through a personalized questionnaire, we can ensure mothers are quickly, safely, and easily onboarded onto the platform

RECRUITERS

Can we increase enrollment in Maternal Mental Health services?

Through a personalized questionnaire, we can ensure mothers are quickly, safely, and easily onboarded onto the platform

Question 2

RECRUITERS

Can we improve access to mental health services for non-first-time-mothers?

The dashboard's “Resources by Experience” feature and "Resources by Stage" includes categories like postpartum, dealing with loss, and mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. This ensures non-first-time mothers find content that resonates with their unique experiences.

RECRUITERS

Can we improve access to mental health services for non-first-time-mothers?

Question 3

RECRUITERS

Can we ensure users receive the treatment or outcomes they seek after accessing resources?

The design integrates checkpoints and follow-ups, encouraging users to take actionable steps toward their mental health goals after accessing resources.

RECRUITERS

Can we ensure users receive the treatment or outcomes they seek after accessing resources?

The design integrates checkpoints and follow-ups, encouraging users to take actionable steps toward their mental health goals after accessing resources.

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You're in good company

Trusted by companies all over the world

You're in good company

Trusted by companies all over the world

Want to work on something like this together?

I'd love to see if we're a match made in design heaven ✨

Schedule a call

Want to work on something like this together?

I'd love to see if we're a match made in design heaven ✨

Schedule a call

Want to work on something like this together?

I'd love to see if we're a match made in design heaven ✨

Schedule a call