Mom,

Your next appointment might be three weeks away. Your next question could come tonight.

Is this headache normal? Why does feeding hurt? Should you wait to hear back about that referral? And who do you ask when something feels wrong, but you cannot quite explain why?

Care shouldn’t disappear between appointments. But for too many mothers, it does.

I’m Bryan Smith, the founder of Phia Health. I’m not an OB or a nurse. I build systems that notice signals and help people act on them. My wife is a postpartum nurse, and we have four children. I’ve seen how much care it takes to bring a baby home—and how much work gets handed back to the mother the moment she does.

An appointment can give you a plan. It cannot predict every question that will come up afterward. It cannot make a referral happen, remember the symptom you forgot to mention, or be there when you are awake at 2 a.m. wondering what to do next.

That is why we built Phia.

Phia is a care team you can text during pregnancy and postpartum. You can ask a question in the same conversation where we check in on you, keep track of what has changed, and help you take the next step. If something needs a closer look, we can bring a licensed clinician into that conversation. Then we follow up, because an answer only helps if you can act on it.

The technology helps Phia pay attention. Nurses and clinicians provide the care. Your OB is still your OB; we work alongside them in the hours between visits.

Sometimes you need reassurance. Sometimes you need a therapist, a lactation consultant, or help getting back to your OB. Sometimes a symptom needs prompt medical attention. You should not have to sort through all of that alone.

It still takes a village to care for a mother. We built Phia to make sure you have one.

Care shouldn’t disappear between appointments. Text Phia when you need us.