Series: Building the future of maternity care (how I found my way to Delfina)
What stood out about Delfina wasn’t just the AI | 5 min read
“The goal of AI isn’t to replace doctors. It’s to help them make better decisions with better data.”
In September 2023, a podcast episode got my attention.
For some background, I had 17 OB appointments when I was pregnant. And I was shocked by what was missing:
Real support for new moms.
After talking to other moms, I realized I was one of the lucky ones.
That journey to motherhood is hard. Not because it’s our fault, but because of how our system is designed.
We have a timing problem:
- Care shows up at OB visits, then you’re on your own between them
- Risk is identified too late
- 80% of maternal deaths are preventable
And we’re still acting only AFTER something goes wrong.
Moms deserve care that makes them feel whole again. That’s what I pieced together for my own two pregnancies–and what I believe all moms deserve
I was looking for a way to bring that to life.
Then, I heard this episode on Minnesota Public Radio episode on Angela Davis’ podcast featuring Dr. Senan Ebrahim, Founder of Delfina.
It was the first time I saw how whole-person care for moms could scale–and how AI made that possible, well before the rest of the industry was using it.
AI was changing the game in healthcare:
🌟 Augmenting clinicians–not replacing them
🌟 Reducing subjective judgement and racial bias in care
🌟 Turning fragmented data into early signals
🌟 Shifting care from reacting to preventing
But what stood out most about Delfina wasn’t just the AI.
It was Senan’s empathy.
He stressed that pregnancy is overwhelming enough, and generic advice doesn't work. Like how unrealistic it was to ask a hispanic patient, at risk of gestational diabetes, to cut rice from her diet.
Care has to fit into her reality and preferences.
That’s the model I wanted to build–where human empathy and AI meet to catch risk earlier, before it turns into crisis. Then follows-up with recommendations that actually makes sense.
Grateful to Senan Ebrahim and George Foley for the opportunity to build towards this future.
