Hey Mama!: A digital companion for the first year after pregnancy

For many families in Canada, post-pregnancy care is limited to a single check-up six weeks after birth. It is a brief encounter in a year that brings lasting physical, emotional, and social change. With little structured support beyond that appointment, people often turn to relatives or the internet for guidance. Others arrive in emergency departments with concerns that are not urgent but remain deeply distressing, adding pressure to families and health systems alike.
That gap is what led Vedha Viyas Thilagarajan to ask how support could look different.
A graduate student in McMaster’s Health Research Methodology Program, Thilagarajan is developing Hey Mama! – a digital platform designed to provide continuous, evidence-informed guidance during the first year after childbirth, miscarriage, or pregnancy termination.
“Too often, families are left to navigate this period alone,” he said. “Hey Mama! is being created with people who have lived pregnancy experience and anchored in research, so it can offer reliable information, culturally relevant resources, and timely mental health support in one place.”
The project is shaped by both evidence and user input. Clinical guidance and population data provide a foundation, while interviews and co-design workshops with families ensure the platform reflects real needs. Artificial intelligence will be used to power a conversational interface, able to respond to questions, connect users with resources, and flag potential concerns. The tool is not intended to replace professional care but to complement it, offering a bridge between appointments.
The project is supported by a $10,000 Mitacs Business Strategy Internship, which provides resources and mentorship for graduate researchers. It is also advancing through the Lab2Market Validate program, a national initiative that helps test innovations in real-world conditions and strengthen their path to adoption.
Thilagarajan is pursuing the work under the supervision of Rohan D’Souza, associate professor in McMaster’s Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact. For D’Souza, the project shows both the urgency of the need and the potential of student-led innovation.
“What stands out is not only the tool itself, but the model it represents,” he said. “A graduate student is tackling a systemic blind spot in post-pregnancy care and developing a solution designed to be practical, scalable, and equitable. It shows how student-led innovation, supported in the right environment, can create meaningful change for families and health systems.”
As the project moves into its next phase, families and health-system partners will play a central role in refining features and priorities through interviews and co-design.
“By bringing evidence and lived experience together, we can build something that is trusted, relevant, and lasting,” Thilagarajan said. “That is what Hey Mama! is meant to be – a companion for families during one of the most challenging and least supported times of their lives.”