Access and agency in women's mental health

Women, Mental Health, and the Promise of Digital Innovation Each year in October, we recognize World Mental Health Day—dedicated to breaking stigma, sparking dialogue, and advancing solutions that prioritize mental well-being. But for women, the conversation takes on an even deeper meaning. Women experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and trauma-related conditions than men. These mental health disparities are not the result of biology alone—social, cultural, and economic pressures and life-stage transitions, bring unique emotional and psychological demands. Despite this heightened need, women continue to face significant barriers in accessing mental health support. Traditional care often means long wait times, high costs, or limited availability of culturally competent providers. But, digital health innovation is rewriting the story and transforming mental health support from something hard to access into something personalized, immediate, and stigma-free. Rewire DTx is a powerful example of this progress. As a digital therapeutic platform, Rewire DTx leverages clinically validated cognitive behavioral strategies and personalized interventions to help individuals manage depression, comorbid stress, anxiety and other mood disorders. Its model removes barriers by delivering discreet, accessible, and effective care directly to users’ devices. For women balancing multiple life demands, this kind of flexible solution can be life-changing. Similarly, Birthvue is innovating maternal mental health by providing education for women throughout pregnancy. Beyond the physical realities of maternal care, Birthvue acknowledges the immense emotional toll of these transitions. By providing real-time support, education, and emotional health resources, the platform helps women feel less isolated, more empowered, and better prepared to navigate the challenges of motherhood. Innovation with Impact: What makes these technologies so promising is not only their accessibility but also their potential to scale globally. With digital platforms, care is no longer constrained by geography. Through the Women’s Health Tech Initiative, we support the entrepreneurs and innovators designing solutions that prioritize women’s needs, integrating mental health into broader health journeys rather than treating it as an afterthought. This holistic approach is long overdue—and digital health is making it possible. A Call to Action: It’s not enough to simply raise awareness. We must invest in, support, and scale solutions that address the unique mental health challenges women face. Mental health is health. For women, ensuring accessible, stigma-free, and effective support is not just an aspiration—it’s a necessity. With digital health at the forefront, we have the opportunity to close gaps, reduce inequities, and empower women to take control of their well-being.

It’s #GivingTuesday, and hopefully you are seeing many posts highlighting organizations making our world a better place. I wanted to share one more story, about a nonprofit that’s doing critical work for mental healthcare: The Loveland Foundation.   Our mental health is every bit as important as our physical health, and when we feel seen and safe and heard, we heal. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same access to services like therapy. That’s why I choose to support Loveland - they are addressing both mental health and equitable access at the same time. The Foundation was born from one person’s birthday fundraiser on social media, which raised over $250,000 to provide therapy for Black women and girls across America. The outpouring of support made it clear there were critical gaps in mental health access, and Loveland Foundation was created in 2018. Here are some of their important offerings: ❤️ A therapy fund provides vouchers for sessions, helping remove financial barriers that too often prevent communities of color from accessing mental health support. So far, more than 23,000 people have benefited from more than 210,000 hours of therapy - the equivalent of $9M+ worth of sessions. 🤝 Professional development workshops and resources for therapists providing crucial services. So far, more than 8,700 therapists have been served by the curated options. I also love how they’re using technology to improve experiences for their clients. Last month, Loveland Foundation received an Anthem Award for its digital portal, which created an easy-to-use one-stop-shop for mental wellness resources. Individual healing creates generational impact - and when we support mental health access today, we're investing in a healthier tomorrow. I encourage you to learn more about Loveland Foundation's work (and I'd love to learn more about p the organizations you support in the comments - please share links)! https://lnkd.in/gEPC2YMW

For Black women, the fear of being judged or facing negative repercussions often stops us from seeking the mental health support and accommodations we need. Many of us worry that disclosing mental health struggles will lead to perceptions of weakness or incompetence, potentially affecting our professional reputation or advancement opportunities. If you can relate, do you worry that you'll be passed over for promotions or face subtle discrimination as a result? Organizations should offer mental health resources and encourage honest conversations without fear of backlash. Only then can we begin to address the barriers that prevent us from seeking the help we deserve. If you’ve been putting off finding a mental health professional who meets your needs, use the first hour of your day tomorrow to tackle it. Request a list of providers from your insurance or check out resources like Therapy for Black Girls. Your well-being is worth the effort. You don’t need external approval to prioritize this part of your life. Taking this step can help you feel more at ease and supported in your daily life.

73% of pregnant women with psychological difficulties lacked mental health care in 2021. Not “some.” Not “a gap.” Nearly three out of four women who knew they were struggling… received no support. This isn’t a discovery. It’s a system failure we’ve normalized. What this new study in the Journal of Affective Disorders makes painfully clear is that access isn’t the only problem. It’s who gets left behind: • Women facing social deprivation • Women with lower education levels • Women already dealing with pregnancy complications like diabetes or hypertension The people who need support the most are the least likely to receive it. What matters just as much is this: support works. Women who had contact with midwives, antenatal classes, or social support systems were significantly more likely to access mental health care. Not because the system suddenly improved. Because someone saw them. This is the gap we’re building in. At Omaia, we’re not waiting for perfect systems or policy reform. We’re building always-available, responsive support that meets women where they actually are: • At 2am, when anxiety spikes • Between appointments that are weeks apart • In the “not sick enough” space where most women fall Because the data is clear: The earlier someone feels supported, the more likely they are to seek help. The more supported a mother is, the better the outcomes for her child. We don’t have a detection problem. We have a delivery problem. And until support is continuous, accessible, and designed around real life—not clinical schedules—this number won’t change. 73% isn’t a statistic. It’s a mandate. #MaternalMentalHealth #WomensHealth #HealthEquity #DigitalHealth #Omaia

This World #MaternalMentalHealth Day let these stats from our partners at The Harris Poll sink in: ➡️ An overwhelming majority of women (86%) believe there needs to be more postpartum follow-up including as standard care (i.e., the 6-week post-partum checkup is not enough) ➡️ More than a third of women (36%) have been diagnosed with a maternal mental health condition with Hispanic and Black women reporting higher diagnosis rates than their White counterparts (51% & 43% vs. 31%), and young women reporting double the rates of older women. ➡️Roughly two-thirds of women who’ve been pregnant (65%) expressed a desire for healthcare providers to proactively discuss MMH during prenatal visits, yet 46% report that they did not receive enough or any information at all. ➡️ 51% of women were unaware that PPD does not typically resolve without intervention - a knowledge gap more prevalent among Black women (66% vs. 54% Hispanic & 48% White). ➡️ 3 in 5 women (59%) believe health insurance companies should always provide full coverage (no cost) for maternal mental health counseling. ➡️ Beyond cost, women can face a ‘triple threat’ of #healthinsurance barriers: (1) a lack of in-network clinicians, (2) limited access to specialized higher-levels of care, and (3) behavioral health services that are not consistently covered across all insurance types, leaving them in a predicament when coverage changes. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gPSZJz24 Learn more at the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health’s 2026 State Report Card Briefing on May 27, where the new Harris Poll results (2026) will be released. https://lnkd.in/gd6rb_eq

If you keep seeing the same people in the same rooms, at the same events, having the same conversations… it’s worth asking what is actually changing.. Familiarity can feel like progress. But often, it’s just an echo chamber. In women’s health, we talk a lot about equity, access and inclusion. Yet too often, the rooms shaping research, policy and funding are still missing the very communities most impacted by these decisions. So we have to be honest with ourselves: Who is not in the room? Whose voices are being overlooked? And what are we actively doing to change that? True co production and community involvement is not convenient. It requires more time, more resource and a willingness to share power, not just invite people in as a tick box exercise. It means building trust with communities who have historically been excluded, underfunded and over researched. Cysters, we see this every day. The gaps in women’s health are not just clinical, they are structural. And they will not be addressed by continuing to circulate the same voices in the space. If we are serious about meaningful change, we need to move beyond speaking to each other and start building with communities. That means opening up spaces. Paying people properly for their expertise. And ensuring lived experience is not an afterthought, but a foundation. Otherwise, we are not transforming systems. We are maintaining them 💅🏾

What if AI could finally close the care gap in women's health? We're witnessing a silent revolution in healthcare technology. AI-driven platforms are stepping in where traditional systems have fallen short, particularly for women and mental health services. Think about it: personalized mood tracking that identifies patterns before you do. Crisis intervention available at 3 AM when therapist offices are closed. Menstrual cycle analysis that actually predicts irregularities with remarkable accuracy. These technologies aren't just convenient alternatives. They represent critical lifelines for underserved communities where healthcare access remains limited or stigmatized. A female colleague shared with me last week about how she thinks our AI solution can connect rural and semi-urban women to specialists they would never have accessed otherwise. Every tech application initially faces rejection – but this "failure" can prove invaluable. It has revealed similar technologies to learn from and guide our development in more innovative directions. The potential impact extends far beyond individual care. These AI solutions could fundamentally transform community health outcomes by providing consistent, stigma-free monitoring and intervention. Traditional healthcare systems weren't designed with women's unique needs in mind. AI offers us a chance to rebuild from the ground up – creating systems that actually understand cyclical health patterns and gender-specific concerns. The most promising aspect? Democratized access. When quality healthcare becomes available through a smartphone, geographic and economic barriers begin to crumble. Have you encountered AI tools addressing women's health or mental wellness? The technological landscape is evolving rapidly, and I'm curious about your experiences with these emerging solutions. Build healthcare that works for everyone. The technology exists – now we need to ensure it reaches those who need it most.

When women break under pressure, we pathologize them. When systems break, we look away. A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine paints a stark picture of maternal mental health in the U.S. Between 2016 and 2023, the number of mothers who reported their mental health as “excellent” dropped from 38% to just 26%. During the same period, reports of “poor” or “fair” mental health rose by 64%. The decline was most severe among single mothers, younger women, and those with public or no insurance. This isn’t just about mental health, it’s the predictable result of invisible and emotional labor that disproportionately falls on women, compounded by systemic and social structures that fail to meet their needs. We ask women to do more at home, at work, in caregiving, in emotional caretaking, and then we treat the exhaustion, anxiety, and burnout that follows as an individual issue. We cannot fix this with self-care. It has to be structural including: 🏡  Paid family leave and affordable childcare 🌱 Equitable mental health access, including the pre & postpartum periods 🧭 Flexible work with caregiver-friendly policies 🫶  Workplace cultures that recognize and redistribute emotional labor We can’t keep asking women to be resilient without also asking systems to be responsible. 🔗 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/guY8hfFn

🫂 UNICEF estimates that nearly 2 million babies are stillborn every year. Today, I want to share this inspiring story of the resilience of women who face mental health challenges. Nyambura Kamau's painful experience of multiple miscarriages pushed her into a whirlwind of emotions, leaving her feeling responsible and stigmatized. She contemplated suicide. But she found hope and support through Still A Mum, an organization that focuses on the much-overlooked issue of maternal mental health. 🚨 In Kenya, maternal mental health challenges are common given a stillbirth rate of 19 per 1,000 births and 10% of pregnancies resulting in miscarriages. These numbers underline the need for accessible and quality mental health services for grieving families. Still A Mum, founded by Caroline Wanjiru Kiunga, understands the culture of silence and stigma surrounding child and pregnancy loss. They help women and families rebuild their lives after the devastating loss of a child or pregnancy. By addressing the impact of poor maternal and neonatal outcomes, they prevent a mental health crisis that can lead to anxiety, paranoia, and substance abuse. However, the journey is not without its challenges. Traditional beliefs, lack of statistics, and policy barriers hinder progress. But Still A Mum continues to make a significant impact, partnering with government offices to develop maternal mental health laws and campaigning for respectful bereavement care. Mental health often takes a back seat in public health priorities, reflecting a broader issue of neglect of this topic. And unsurprisingly this is particularly evident in the disregard for women's mental well-being. It perpetuates the assumption that women can and should bear the consequences without additional support and as an inherent aspect of their roles and responsibilities. This needs to change. 🌻 Together, we can shatter the global myths around pregnancy and child loss. Every woman, regardless of how long she had a baby, deserves support. I'm moved to see these female leaders refuse silence and embrace strength. It is imperative that nations invest in affordable and accessible mental health care for all. Policy makers should make maternal mental health a priority and learn from this progressive approach to improving women's health. https://lnkd.in/e2_KmVig #MaternalMentalHealth #BreakingTheSilence #SupportForBereavedMothers #EmpoweringWomen #HealthyMotherhood

For too long, women’s health has been defined by what’s missing. Missing research. Missing recognition. Missing answers. Entire decades of a woman’s life reduced to shrugging doctors, “normal” labs, and a growing pile of supplements that don’t quite deliver. But something’s changing, and if you’re paying attention, you can actually feel it. Women are no longer waiting for healthcare to come find them. They’re building it themselves. They’re turning symptom tracking into self-awareness and conversations over brunch. They’re learning how to read their own labs and adjust their treatments accordingly. They’re trusting their trainer over their doctor. They’re choosing optimization over explanation. And they’re no longer afraid to ask for more than “not sick.” The future of women’s health isn’t reactive, it’s regenerative. It doesn’t start with a diagnosis. It starts with data, design, and desire. Desire to feel like yourself again. To be strong, not just slim. To be sharp, not just surviving. To build a life that expands, even as your hormones shift and your body changes. And this isn’t a niche trend. It’s the next chapter of medicine. Because the woman who walks into your practice today is more informed than ever. She’s not just looking for a prescription. She’s looking for a partner who has the same philosophy on aging or wellness. And she’s less impressed with your company’s tech stack and AI chatbot. She wants someone who can translate complexity into clarity. Someone who can look at her sleep, her stress, her labs, her libido, and see HER whole story, not isolated symptoms. This future requires a new kind of practitioner. Not one with more credentials, but with more curiosity. Not someone who simply follows guidelines, but who knows when to go beyond them. A guide, not a gatekeeper. The new standard is personalization. The new status is ownership. And the new system is being built outside the walls of conventional care. One woman, one practitioner, one transformation at a time. And fancy tech may solve for access, but it doesn’t necessarily improve experience. Are you reimagining healthcare for the version of her that waited quietly in the exam room? Or are you designing it for the version of her that’s building the future?