Maven Clinic

In 1990, Britain's c-section rate was 12%. Their maternity system, largely led by midwives, was considered the crown jewel of the world. Today their c-section rate is around 45% and the National Health Service owes families $27 billion in legal claims. So what happened? In the latest issue of The Preprint, our Chief Medical Officer Neel Shah traces how a decade of underinvestment in maternity and newborn care in the UK got mistaken for a philosophy problem. Midwives got blamed for pushing natural birth, meanwhile  the numbers tell a different story: maternal mortality and birth trauma have climbed right alongside the cesarean rate, and malpractice payouts for UK maternity care now exceed the entire NHS newborn budget. Underfunding did that, not ideology. The parallels in America are hard to ignore. Rural families already travel hours for basic prenatal care, and the economics of running a maternity practice mean providers often can't slow down enough to manage labor the way it should be managed. Worth a read if you work in benefits, healthcare, or just want to understand the state of maternity care and why outcomes keep getting worse, on both sides of the Atlantic. ➡ Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gRm9k83d

One Maven member recently told us what it felt like to have their care work when it mattered most. They were approaching 40, navigating infertility, and noticing the first signs of perimenopause happening all at once. Her Maven provider helped her connect the two, and pushed her to get her husband into a fertility clinic when he was hesitant. Months later, something felt off. A first scan came back clear. The pain didn't. Her provider told her to go back anyway. That follow-up is the reason her breast cancer was caught. She went through treatment, then chemo-induced menopause, with the same provider walking her through both. Every day on our platform, there’s a moment like this for one of our members. If a moment with your care team has stayed with you, we'd love for you to share them with us here: https://lnkd.in/g4fWvpJw

AAP’s vaccine recommendations for U.S. children are built on decades of research, thousands of studies, continuous safety monitoring, and the expertise of physicians and scientists whose sole focus is children's health. AAP’s schedule is based on when children’s immune systems respond best to immunizations, and when they are most vulnerable to preventable diseases. We don't change recommendations because of political considerations, speculations, or misinformation. Right now, the evidence continues to show that these vaccines are safe, effective, and important for protecting children.

How maternity care gets paid for is about to change. Starting January 2027, new CPT codes will "unbundle" maternity reimbursement — separating out services that have historically been billed as one package. On August 6, WHIS (Women's Health Innovation Summit) is hosting a webinar to unpack what this means in practice. Maven's Chief Medical Officer, Neel Shah will join: Michelle Andrews , Contributing Writer at KFF Health News Barbara Levy, MD, FACOG, Ex-VP Health Policy at American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Jeff Levin-Scherz, Population Health Leader, Health Management Practice at WTW to break down the implications for health plans, employers, provider groups, and digital health companies alike. If maternity benefits or reimbursement touch your organization, this is worth an hour of your time. 📍 Join us for this webinar by registering here → https://lnkd.in/g4aEDcJM

"I'm pregnant." "I'm about to start IVF and I'll need some flexibility." "We're waiting on an adoption match — I want to plan for parental leave." Your managers are going to have these conversations. The question is whether they're equipped to handle them well. How a manager responds in these moments can make or break employee satisfaction, engagement, productivity, and retention. And the stakes are measurable — replacing an employee can cost up to 213% of their salary. The risk isn't abstract. It shows up directly on your bottom line when an employee who felt unsupported decides not to come back. Most manager training doesn't cover this. Interview skills, performance conversations, giving feedback — those get airtime. Fertility, pregnancy loss, parental leave, and adoption rarely do. These are the moments employees remember most clearly when they decide whether to stay. A few things that actually help managers show up well: ➡️ Practice empathic listening before the conversation happens. Give employees space to share without rushing to problem-solve. Acknowledge what they've said before moving to logistics. ➡️ Don't make it about the team. The instinct to immediately think about coverage and workload is understandable — but voicing it in that first conversation sends the wrong message. There's time for logistics. Lead with the person. ➡️ Ask what they need, rather than assuming. "I appreciate that you've been open with me about your fertility treatments. How are you doing? Help me understand what support you might need right now." A question like this costs nothing and signals everything. ➡️ Know what your benefits actually cover. Managers don't need to be the expert, but they should know enough to point employees in the right direction to resources rather than leaving them to figure it out alone. ➡️ Proactively open the door. Don't wait for employees to come to you when a situation has become overwhelming. Use conversation starters to ask employees what they may need directly. The employees who most need support are often the least likely to ask for it. The organizations that retain employees through these life moments aren't the ones with the longest list of benefits. They're the ones whose managers knew what to say...and what not to.

Building a family is a journey — and we still have so much to learn about it. Maven Clinic is partnering with ŌURA on a new research study focused on people who are actively trying to conceive. Together, we’re exploring how wearable data from Oura Ring combined with virtual clinical support can help deepen our understanding of the conception experience. This fully remote study will look at how biometric insights, participant-reported experiences, and engagement with Maven providers intersect during this life stage. Eligible U.S.-based Oura Members (women ages 18–45) can learn more in the Oura app We’re proud to support research that brings more clarity, personalization, and evidence to reproductive health. Learn more about the study here: https://lnkd.in/gFbB6UZw

Does your doctor ask what wearable you’re wearing? Chris Curry MD, PhD, Clinical Director of Women’s Health at ŌURA, and our own Chief Medical Officer Neel Shah think they should. But the system has to catch up, first. For too long, women’s health has felt like a true black box. And when it comes to journeys like trying to conceive, that feels even truer. Few of us were ever actually taught how to track our cycles, let alone how to get pregnant. 📣 This is why we’re excited to announce a first-of-its-kind, IRB-approved research study together, exploring how continuous wearable biometrics can support people who are trying to conceive. And maybe, just maybe, on the other side of it fertility doctors might start asking you what your ring or watch has told you about your cycles. 🎙️You can listen to today’s newest Preprint podcast about the promise of wearables in women’s health wherever you listen to your podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gujGCaPM

Maya was 36, pregnant after IVF, and flagged as higher risk for preeclampsia. Her Maven care team connected her with a specialist and helped manage her blood pressure throughout her pregnancy — catching issues before they became a crisis. When Maya shared that she was feeling anxious about delivery, she was connected with a mental health provider and a doula to help her build a birth plan. She had a healthy delivery and returned to work with confidence. For her employer, that early intervention meant an avoided hospitalization, lower absenteeism, and one less employee forced to choose between her health and her job. Multiply that across a workforce and it adds up to real, measurable savings — not just goodwill. The math on early, coordinated care is straightforward: catch things sooner, keep people healthier, and make every benefits dollar work harder. 📍Check out Maya's full story here: https://lnkd.in/eSKh33uM

If you're due in August, you're in good company. It's the most popular birth month in the United States, which means parental leave season is about to peak. If you're one of the many expecting a baby next month, the to-do list probably feels endless. But a few things, done now, make a real difference in how leave actually goes for you, for your team, and for your return. Start the coverage conversation earlier than feels necessary. The hardest part of leave isn't being gone. It's the handoff. Map out your key responsibilities, identify who covers what, and give your team enough runway to actually prepare. Two weeks is not enough of a window, 4-6 weeks is safer. Document everything your future self will thank you for. Passwords, recurring tasks, stakeholder contacts, the thing only you know how to do. Write it down. Leave is not the time to be the single point of failure. Decide now how reachable you want to be — if at all — and let your team know before your last day. Whether it's full disconnect or occasional check-ins, being clear upfront means no one has to guess, and you don't have to manage it in the moment. It's much harder to hold a boundary you never set. Understand your benefits before you need them. Many employers offer support in the postpartum period from mental health resources to lactation support and backup childcare. Now is the time to get familiar with what's available. Leave is easier when you're not figuring out your benefits at the same time. Think about the return, not just the leave. There's a lot on your plate right now, but even a loose sense of what return-to-work looks like can reduce the fear of the unknown. Childcare is often the thing that makes or breaks it. Whether you're still figuring out your primary care situation or just thinking through backup options, earlier is better. Leave is one of the most significant transitions you'll go through professionally. We're here to make sure it doesn't have to be one of the hardest.

For years, the conversation about fertility benefits has been about access — and rightfully so. Millions of people still have no fertility coverage at all, and closing that gap remains essential. But access is just the beginning. We're taking the conversation a step further to talk about benefit design, because the right design can support both better health outcomes and lower costs. Today, we're sharing three new resources to help employers navigate this moment: → New research from the Maven Clinical Research Institute on how benefit design can shape fertility treatment decisions — and can cut the cost to pregnancy nearly in half → Our public comment on the proposed excepted fertility benefits rule from the Departments of Labor, HHS, and Treasury → An interactive guide for employers to navigate state fertility mandates The landscape for fertility benefits is evolving fast. For employers trying to make sense of it all, we're here to help. Learn more in our press release: https://lnkd.in/gmupbEug