CAI | Center for Augmenting Intelligence in Urban Health
CAI | Center for Augmenting Intelligence in Urban Health
The Heart Next Door App is a maternal health platform designed to address one of the most urgent public health challenges. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations, and in cities like Detroit, maternal deaths occur at nearly three times the national average. While nearly 80% of maternal-related deaths are considered preventable, many result from missed warning signs, delayed intervention, and gaps in care between clinical visits.
The platform was created to help close these gaps by placing education, symptom monitoring, and community support directly in the hands of expecting and postpartum mothers, The Heart Next Door supports earlier identification of risk and more timely follow-up—when intervention can make the greatest difference.
Serving as a digital extension of community-based care, The Heart Next Door combines emotional wellness check-ins, education, and access to trusted support resources in one place. The app is built to complement—not replace—clinical care, ensuring mothers feel seen, supported, and connected beyond appointments and hospital stays.
The Heart Next Door Platform
The Heart Next Door is designed to be intuitive for mothers and actionable for organizations, using AI to support continuous care and early intervention between clinical visits. At the core of the platform is a digital doula—an AI-powered support layer that guides mothers through daily emotional and physical wellness check-ins, provides education aligned with CDC maternal warning signs, and helps interpret symptoms in real time.
As mothers engage with the platform, the digital doula identifies patterns and responses that may indicate elevated risk. When reported symptoms align with CDC-recognized warning signs, the system generates alerts that prompt timely follow-up and human intervention by care teams or trusted maternal health professionals. This approach allows technology to support awareness and responsiveness while keeping clinical judgment and human care at the center.
For partner organizations, the platform aggregates engagement and symptom data into dashboards and reports that provide visibility into participation, trends, and follow-through. These insights help bridge the gap, enabling data-informed maternal health strategies without increasing provider burden.
For mothers: Continuous, responsive support between appointments, improved awareness of warning signs, and clearer pathways to care and community-based resources during pregnancy and postpartum.
For healthcare and community organizations: Scalable infrastructure to extend care beyond clinical settings, monitor engagement and risk signals, and support earlier intervention without increasing provider burden.
For employers and public programs: Improved maternal wellbeing, participation, and retention through proactive support that addresses gaps in traditional maternity care.
For communities: Stronger, coordinated care networks that reinforce continuity, shared responsibility, and prevention, helping reduce avoidable maternal and infant harm.
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