Linnea - Postpartum Companion
A postpartum companion app that closed the 6-week gap between hospital discharge and the final visit. 50% fewer non-urgent calls in the first 3 months.
The Challenge
Care inside the building was excellent. The moment a mother walked out the doors, the hospital had no visibility into her recovery. She left with a folder of paper instructions, a leaflet of warning signs, and a phone number for emergencies. 1 in 7 new mothers visits an ER or is readmitted within 6 weeks of giving birth. Postpartum mood concerns go undiagnosed for weeks. The Director of Patient Experience wanted a way to extend care from discharge to the 6-week visit without becoming intrusive.
The Approach
Scoped the product around the 6-week postpartum journey. A calm iOS companion for the mother, designed to sit above the hospital's existing systems without duplicating them.
A recovery timeline with milestones, a 60-second daily check-in for mood, pain and energy, a symptom guide for the 3am Google moment with three outcomes (within normal range, watch closely, call your coordinator now), an asynchronous chat with the assigned coordinator, an appointment briefer and a quiet log for feeds and weight. The visual language was deliberate: warm cream, sage green, deep forest CTAs, serif headlines, large display numerals. It needed to feel like a wellness brand, not a hospital portal.
The Outcome
Piloted with 60 mothers in the first cohort. Non-urgent calls to the main line were cut in half within 3 months because the symptom guide answered most questions before they reached the phone. Mothers used the app every single day through the full 6 weeks. The hospital is now in conversations with two other private maternity groups about rolling it out across their networks.
"We had excellent care inside our walls and almost no visibility once mothers left. Nikola's design closed that gap. Non-urgent calls to the main line were cut in half in the first 3 months. Mothers used it every single day. I would have expected this kind of product to take a year." Maria, Director of Patient Experience, Linnea Maternity Centre
Client names changed under NDA. Results and deliverables are real.