Mom creates Irth app to help other pregnant women find best care possible, improve Black maternal health

NEW YORK (WABC) — One mother has used her own personal experience as motivation to help other expecting women find the best care possible.

“You’re really not being treated as a person, it really felt like we were being treated like a number,” said expectant mother Solaire Spellen.

Spellen got a little extra help switching providers after an unsettling experience early in her pregnancy.

“Now we’re receiving care at a beautiful clinic, it’s actually called Uah,” she said. “They have great ratings on the app.”

That app is called Irth. It’s a free Yelp-like platform where you can find prenatal, birthing, postpartum and pediatric reviews of care from other Black and brown women.

“It’s often referred to as the Green Book of hospitals,” Spellen said. “It’s a shame that we need it, but we do. We need to be able to tell one another where it’s safe to deliver.”

Journalist and maternal healthcare advocate Kimberly Seales Allers developed and launched the app in 2022 after her own birth trauma.

Black pregnant women in New York City are almost four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white pregnant women, according to the latest data from the health department.

“I wanted to create a place where we could let each other know that we were not alone,” Allers said.

She also aims to teach hospitals how to treat pregnant women of color better.

The mom of two and NYC native says through her app, her team has collected data from women across the country.

She is currently working with eight healthcare systems in six states to improve care.

“Right now in our national database, the number one negative experience being reported in Irth is ‘my request for help was refused,’ number two is ‘my pain levels were dismissed,'” Allers said.

Irth is available in the Apple and Google Play app store. It shows you which hospitals allow doulas, C-section rates, plus data on vaginal births after C-sections.

Spellen, who has a background in maternal healthcare research is due next month. She is also a member of the Irth team.

“Being able to work in the space of advancing maternal health has been incredibly rewarding,” Spellen said.

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