Pear Suite Empowers Birthworkers with Innovative Technology for Maternal and Child Health
Pear Suite, a digital health company dedicated to addressing social determinants of health (SDOH), is advancing its mission to support maternal and child health by empowering doulas and other birthworkers. By providing these professionals with an intuitive care navigation and billing platform, Pear Suite is enhancing their ability to offer personalized, culturally competent care to expectant and new mothers. This initiative is particularly focused on serving underserved communities, where access to quality maternal care is often limited. Through this expansion, Pear Suite is helping birthworkers streamline their workflows, improve care coordination, and ensure that mothers receive the tailored support they need throughout pregnancy and postpartum.
Doulas, a crucial type of birthworker, provide essential emotional, physical, and informational support to families during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Despite their critical role in maternal healthcare, many doulas encounter challenges in coordinating care, tracking patient needs, connecting families to resources, and billing for services. Pear Suite, a digital health company, is addressing these barriers with its platform designed to empower birthworkers. By streamlining communication, documenting health and social needs, and offering real-time data insights, Pear Suite is helping doulas improve care delivery and outcomes for both mothers and babies.
Pear Suite’s platform aims to bridge the gaps in care coordination, making it easier for doulas to provide personalized support to expectant and new mothers, particularly in underserved communities. The platform allows doulas to efficiently manage various tasks, from health screenings to care coordination, education, and connecting families to resources, all while ensuring they are compensated for their services. This aligns with national efforts to reduce maternal mortality rates, particularly among marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, and people of color who face disproportionate maternal health disparities.
“Our mission is to uplift frontline public health workers, including doulas, by providing the digital tools and support necessary to improve care and secure fair reimbursement,” said Colby Takeda, co-founder and CEO of Pear Suite. “By empowering doulas with these tools, we can reduce health disparities and improve long-term health outcomes for both mothers and babies.”
In addition to care coordination, Pear Suite’s platform helps birthworkers navigate the often complex process of billing and reimbursement, ensuring they receive fair compensation for their work. This approach is in line with broader efforts to address maternal health disparities, especially in communities that have been historically underrepresented in healthcare systems.
Pear Suite has already made strides in its mission to support maternal health by partnering with several organizations across seven states. These partnerships have enabled doulas to access the platform, and early users have reported improved efficiency in their workflows, better communication between birthworkers, families, and healthcare providers, and enhanced care delivery.
One of these partnerships is with the Black Mothers’ Breastfeeding Association (BMBFA) in Detroit, Michigan. BMBFA is committed to training and deploying community-based doulas, breastfeeding peer counselors, and childbirth educators, and they have integrated Pear Suite’s platform to streamline their operations.
In addition to training birthworkers, BMBFA provides resources and support to expand Michigan’s doula workforce. Their recent work includes publications like The Michigan Community-Based Doula Safety Net Funding Brief, The Michigan Doula Best Practice Guide, and The Michigan Doula Medicaid Provider Toolkit, all of which aim to enhance access to care and develop funding models for doula services.
“Doulas play a vital role in caring for families, and they deserve resources to support their continued success,” said Kiddada Green, BMBFA Founding Executive Director. “Using tools like Pear Suite allows us to streamline administrative tasks, freeing up doulas to focus on what truly matters—nurturing families and building supportive relationships.”
Another significant collaboration is with O Community Doulas in California, which has launched the Doula Help Desk, a first-of-its-kind resource hub designed to empower doulas with the tools, technical assistance, and funding guidance they need. Pear Suite’s platform powers this hub, simplifying documentation, reporting, and reimbursement processes so doulas can focus on providing holistic care. The program has already engaged over 122 doulas, with plans to reach 1,000 birthing families this year.
“This initiative is especially important as California’s expansion of doula services through Medi-Cal has created new opportunities but also operational challenges, particularly for smaller doula organizations and doulas of color,” said Ithiopia Mckinney, founder at COMMUNi-T.org and Executive Director at O Community Doulas. “By pairing Pear Suite’s technology with the Doula Help Desk, we can provide doulas with the infrastructure they need to thrive, including support for billing, contracting, training, and mentorship.”
In addition to the Doula Help Desk, COMMUNi-T is also launching three Birth Equity and Infant Health Mobile Clinics to bring accessible healthcare services directly to underserved and rural communities. These clinics, operating in areas like the Sacramento/Bay Area, Northern Rural Counties, and Central Valley Counties, will deploy doulas, community health workers, and medical professionals to provide culturally competent care. Pear Suite’s platform will be used in the field to enhance care coordination and ensure that these services are accessible to those who need them the most.
To further highlight the importance of maternal health, COMMUNi-T will hold a launch event for the mobile clinics on March 4th at 11 AM in Rancho Cordova, California. The event will feature key speakers, including California Surgeon General Dr. Diana Ramos.
Pear Suite’s innovative platform is transforming the way birthworkers operate, empowering them with the tools and support they need to deliver high-quality, culturally sensitive care while addressing critical maternal health disparities. By focusing on empowering birthworkers, Pear Suite is helping to improve outcomes for families, especially in underserved communities.
About Pear Suite
Pear Suite is a digital health company focused on addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH). Through its AI-powered social care navigation platform, Pear Suite enables health plans, providers, and community organizations to engage members, improve health outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs. The platform is culturally and linguistically tailored to help organizations provide person-centered care, and Pear Suite has positively impacted over 100,000 lives by driving improvements in communities often overlooked by traditional healthcare systems.
