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Meadow App (Capstone)

A postpartum wellness app promoting holistic health through culturally grounded, community-based support.

Health & Wellness

UI/UX

B2C

Timeline
Sep 2024 - Apr 2025, 8 months

Role
Product Designer — UX Research, UI Design, User Testing

Team
Margot Lin (Product Designer), Swathi Ram (Researcher), Leesan Sun (Researcher)

01 / Problem Space

Postpartum mothers in marginalized communities face serious wellness challenges—but existing systems often fail to listen and provide culturally connected care.

Research Question

How might we better support the wellness needs of postpartum mothers in socioeconomically vulnerable groups?

02 / Motivation & Background

Why this problem matters

Prevalence & Impact of PPD

~1 in 7 women experience postpartum depression (PPD), a condition that can adversely affect both the mother and child.

Socioeconomic Barriers to Care

Mothers from low-income backgrounds face higher risks of postpartum depression and poor health outcomes. For many, care is fragmented and hard to access, with structural barriers such as limited providers, transportation issues, and reliance on Medicaid creating gaps in support.

Disparities in Maternal Health Outcomes

Black mothers experience additional challenges shaped by systemic barriers and cultural disconnects in care. Their concerns are more likely to be dismissed or misunderstood, resulting in critical gaps in trust and treatment.

03 / Information Gathering

Literature Review

To understand and expand on our problem space, we reviewed 60+ academic papers and synthesized our findings into 5 main themes:

Socioeconomic Status as a Determinant of Health
Support Systems as a Health Factor
Population Specific Considerations
Existing mHealth Applications
Culturally Competent Research and Design

We synthesized our research into 5 main themes after reviewing 60+ academic papers:

Socioeconomic Status as a Determinant of Health
Support Systems as a Health Factor
Population Specific Considerations
Existing mHealth Applications
Culturally Competent Research and Design

Qualitative Data Analysis

To gain insight into the lived experiences of postpartum mothers beyond academic literature, we analyzed both primary and secondary accounts shared on Reddit. Using an inductive coding approach, we identified the recurring themes:

Importance of a Doula
Willingness to Ask for Support
Need for Self-Advocacy
Personal Advice

Competitive Analysis

We evaluated existing products by analyzing their core features, business models, cultural responsiveness, and how well they addressed the needs of their target users.

By doing so, we were able to pinpoint gaps in current solutions and identify opportunities to deliver holistic, culturally relevant, and accessible support for postpartum mothers from low-income and marginalized communities.

Along with our analysis of digital products, we also researched physical resources in Atlanta (e.g., support groups and educational programs) by reaching out to local organizations. This helped us understand the broader ecosystem of postpartum care for our target users.

Expert Interviews

For our last research method, we conducted 2 semi-structured interviews with 3 subject matter experts to bridge our research findings with expert knowledge. These interviews helped us better understand how to design effective behavioral health interventions, conduct informed and inclusive user research, and identify effective features and engagement opportunities for our solution.

We spoke with two clinician-researchers at a major Atlanta hospital, and a psychologist who leads a digital health startup focused on pediatric mental health in low-SES populations. Our goal was to understand how technology can be leveraged to support mental and physical wellness, and how to design for vulnerable populations while accounting for cultural nuance, medical mistrust, and practical constraints. We gained several critical insights: