Maternal Health Hackathon
Case Study & Outcomes
Summary
Hack the Gap hosted the Maternal Health Hackathon in October of 2021, with an in kind sponsorship from St. Catherine University’s Henrietta Schmoll School of Health.
The goal of this event was to empower intergenerational teams of practitioners, faculty, students and birthing advocates to generate innovations for reproductive justice.
The hackathon consisted of 2 working sessions and a demo day featuring four tech solutions. Solutions were focused on addressing the maternal death rate among Black birthing people in the United States.
MEET THE TEAM
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DEE ANAND
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YAHSMENE BUTLER
MEET THE MENTORS
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RACHAEL MCGRAW
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ANGELA HASOURIS
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MASE SANTOS
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MAKAYLAH GROSE
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MELISSA GUTIERREZ NELSON
MEET THE JUDGES
Carolina Karanja, CEO of Hack the Gap
Dr. Jaime Slaughter-Acey, Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota
Elise Maxwell, Trained Birth Doula
PROGRAMMING DETAILS
KICK OFF [Virtual]
Saturday, OCTOBER 16 - 10:OOAM - 11:30 AM CST
WORKING SESSIONS [Virtual]
Saturday, OCTOBER 16 - 11:30AM - 1:00PM CST
Sunday, OCTOBER 17 - 10:00AM - 1:00PM CST
DEMO DAY [Virtual]
Friday, OCTOBER 22 - 12:00PM CST
PARTICIPANTS
Developers, innovators, designers, researchers, health majors, students, sociologists, women’s health practitioners, birthing and reproductive justice advocates were invited.
Hack the Gap is for women identifying and non-binary people.
Why Maternal Health?
Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native (AI/AN) birthing people over the age of 30 experience death rates four to five times higher than those of white birthing people in the same age group.
Caring for childbearing women and newborns continues to be the number one cause for hospitalization in the United States. In 2013 to 2018, there was a 26% increase in maternal mortality rate.
Within this context, what does reproductive justice look like?
The Challenge
The primary challenge of the hackathon was to address and ideate solutions to support reproductive justice for Black birthing people in the United States. By combining social and historical context with technology solutions, teams were encouraged to build projects that were innovative, accessible and impactful.
Participants consisted of public health experts, students, advocates, technologists, and designers who identify as women or non-binary people. Teams were composed of cross-industry professionals, which allowed for an holistic approach to the challenge.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all programming was hosted virtually to ensure the safety of our community.
THE DEMOS
Team Maroon
Team Maroon created Beehive, an audio only social app to facilitate conversations and connect parents through ongoing conversation on healthcare, child development, birthing, and cultural and systematic racism. The hope in fostering a community of like-minded parents to facilitate meaningful conversations on the challenge of maternal health disparities.
Team Indigo
Team Indigo developed Lavender, a site for black parenthood. Lavender is dedicated to connecting black people currently experiencing childbirth and those who have gone through childbirth. The website exists to create a network for those navigating parenthood for the first time with each other
Team Yellow
Team Yellow formulated CARE [Community Aid through Reach and Engagement], an Health and community intervention for improving parental health. CARE aims to offer education consult, direct access to trained doula and community health worker network, and access to the “Love, MAMA” app. The social impact is to sustaining virtual and in-person social support networks and well-being of BIPOC parents.
Team Green
Team Green present W.H.O.L.E [Women Helping Organize Living Easy]. Their goal is to help find solutions to maternal and childcare needs and find efficient resources for mothers
WINNERS
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1st Place
TEAM MAROON (Beehive)
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2nd Place
TEAM YELLOW (CARE)
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3rd Place
TEAM INDIGO (Lavender)
CLOSING THOUGHTS
