Soula, a fem-tech startup, has developed an AI-powered chatbot called “Dua” designed to provide 24/7 mental health support for mothers during pregnancy and postpartum periods. The app addresses a critical gap in maternal healthcare access, offering women immediate support when traditional healthcare resources may be unavailable or overwhelming.
Co-founded by Natallia Miranchuk and Andrei Kulik, Soula has achieved significant traction with over 35,000 downloads according to Sensor Tower data. The startup has raised more than $750,000 in funding, backed by investors including Andrey Mikhaylyuk, former vice president of product at Flo Health, a leading period tracking app.
The AI chatbot functions like a digital doula, providing non-medical emotional support, information, and reassurance to mothers navigating the challenging transition of pregnancy and postpartum life. Users like LeRonika Francis from Louisiana report that Dua helped reduce depressive symptoms by offering personalized encouragement and practical self-care resources, including stress-reduction techniques like self-hugging exercises.
The rise of AI healthcare chatbots reflects broader industry trends. According to Sensor Tower, companion apps like Character.ai, Talkie, and Paradot have accumulated over 73 million collective downloads, surging more than 130% between 2023 and 2024. AI therapy apps such as Wysa and Woebot have received over 1 million downloads, demonstrating growing consumer acceptance of AI-powered mental health support.
To ensure empathetic and culturally appropriate responses, Soula enlisted real-life doulas like Lexi Pacheco from Arizona to train the chatbot at $22 per hour. These professionals helped refine Dua’s dialogue to provide reassurance beyond what a simple Google search might offer, addressing the emotional needs of mothers who may feel uncomfortable asking questions of healthcare providers or family members.
Healthcare professionals, including Dr. Devon Rupley, an OB/GYN specialist at NYC Health, largely welcome these AI tools as complementary resources that can increase healthcare access, particularly for underserved communities. The technology aims to reduce the burden on an overburdened healthcare system facing long wait times and worker burnout, while allowing patients to use limited doctor time more effectively for high-level medical discussions.
However, experts like Corenia Smith, director of the Birth Justice Collaborative in Minnesota, emphasize the importance of avoiding “one size fits all” approaches and ensuring AI reflects diverse cultural practices. Johannes Eichstaedt, a computational social scientist at Stanford University, notes that retention rates for AI healthcare chatbots remain low, representing “an elephant in the room” for the industry.
Key Quotes
It tells me: ‘Welcome back, LeRonika. Your reactions are natural.’ I feel like Dua is there more than anything. It really showed me: OK, this is what you could do. Make sure you make time for yourself, too, because that’s important as well.
LeRonika Francis, a mother from Louisiana, describes how the Soula AI chatbot provided personalized emotional support during her postpartum period, helping reduce depressive symptoms through reassurance and practical self-care guidance.
Women are shy to ask questions, even in the community, because they have the feeling that maybe ‘as a mom, I should have known that, but I don’t.’ And she doesn’t know where to go.
Natallia Miranchuk, co-founder of Soula, explains the core problem the AI chatbot addresses: the stigma and shame many mothers feel about asking basic questions, which prevents them from seeking necessary support through traditional channels.
There are cultural practices that exist and have existed for thousands of years that people still use. A human could talk about all their experience and what they’ve seen and give referrals. When you reach that limitation with an AI, it has to have the ability to hand over care or make a referral in a way where people don’t feel dropped.
Corenia Smith, director of the Birth Justice Collaborative, highlights critical concerns about AI chatbots’ limitations in recognizing diverse cultural practices and the importance of seamless handoffs to human care providers when AI reaches its boundaries.
AI isn’t like a healthcare provider to give you guidance, but it’s supposed to be there to give you a little bit more comfort.
Lexi Pacheco, a doula who helped train Soula’s chatbot, clarifies the appropriate role of AI in maternal healthcare: providing emotional comfort and filling gaps rather than replacing professional medical guidance or human doulas.
Our Take
Soula represents an important case study in responsible AI deployment for healthcare applications. By involving actual doulas in training the chatbot and positioning it as complementary rather than replacement care, the startup demonstrates a thoughtful approach to AI integration in sensitive healthcare contexts. The impressive growth metrics—35,000 downloads and $750,000 in funding—suggest genuine market demand for accessible maternal mental health support.
However, the low retention rates mentioned by Stanford researcher Eichstaedt reveal a critical challenge: while AI chatbots may provide initial comfort, sustaining long-term engagement remains difficult. This suggests that AI maternal health tools work best as entry points to care rather than standalone solutions. The technology’s true value may lie in reducing barriers to seeking help and triaging concerns, ultimately connecting women to appropriate human support when needed. As the AI healthcare sector matures, success will depend on finding the right balance between technological accessibility and irreplaceable human empathy.
Why This Matters
This development represents a significant intersection of AI technology and maternal healthcare, addressing a critical public health challenge. The United States faces a maternal health crisis, particularly affecting communities of color and low-income populations who experience higher rates of maternal mortality and limited access to doula services.
The emergence of AI-powered maternal health support tools demonstrates how generative AI is expanding beyond traditional tech applications into essential healthcare services. With healthcare systems worldwide facing capacity constraints and burnout, AI chatbots offer a scalable solution to provide immediate, accessible support without replacing human medical professionals.
The 130% growth in AI companion app downloads between 2023 and 2024 signals growing consumer comfort with AI for emotional and mental health support. This trend has profound implications for how healthcare delivery evolves, potentially democratizing access to support services previously available only to affluent populations who could afford private doulas.
However, the technology also raises important questions about AI ethics, cultural competency, and the limitations of automated care. As these tools proliferate, ensuring they serve diverse populations appropriately while maintaining appropriate boundaries between AI support and professional medical care will be crucial for the industry’s sustainable development.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/soula-ai-chatbot-postpartum-healthcare-gap-women-2024-10