Phia Health to Support March of Dimes Through New Membership Commitment
PHILADELPHIA, September 25, 2026 — Phia Health today announced that, beginning November 1, it will donate $9.50 for every new paid consumer membership to March of Dimes. The amount represents half of the first month’s $19 membership fee and will be paid by Phia.
For founder Bryan Smith, the commitment began long before Phia existed.
“One of my children was born at 28 weeks,” Smith said. “I remember the monitors and the updates. I also remember going home while my baby stayed in the NICU, carrying questions I hadn’t thought to ask while we were there.”
His family received extraordinary clinical care. The experience nevertheless stayed with him: between visits and updates, parents are left to make sense of new information, notice changes, and decide when to reach out. That gap helped shape Phia, a text-based service designed to give patients support during pregnancy and after birth.
The need extends far beyond one family. In 2024, 377,204 babies in the United States were born preterm, representing 10.4% of live births, according to March of Dimes. The CDC reported 649 maternal deaths that year. Its data also show a stark disparity: the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 44.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with 14.2 for non-Hispanic White women.
The CDC estimates that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths reviewed were preventable—meaning there was at least some chance that reasonable changes in care or other circumstances could have avoided them. That finding does not point to a single solution. It underscores the need for attention and support throughout pregnancy and the year after it.
Phia is working on one part of that challenge: making support easier to reach between appointments. Patients can text questions, receive check-ins and guidance, and be connected with a nurse or specialist when a concern needs a person. Phia aims to help patients understand what to do next and connect with appropriate care sooner. The company is measuring that work; it has not established that its service reduces maternal deaths or complications.
“Building Phia and supporting March of Dimes are two ways we can act on what I learned as a parent,” Smith said. “The donation supports work that reaches beyond our own patients. At Phia, our responsibility is to be there when someone has a question or concern and needs help taking the next step.”
Beginning November 1, 2026, Phia will contribute $9.50 from each new paid consumer membership to March of Dimes. The commitment applies to new paid consumer memberships; patients whose Phia access is provided through an OB referral or payer are not included in that calculation.
For Smith, the purpose remains tied to the day his family entered the NICU.
“Statistics tell us the scale of the problem,” he said. “I know what one of those numbers feels like when it is your child. We want to build with those families in mind.”
About Phia Health
Phia Health provides text-based support during pregnancy and after birth, combining an AI care agent with access to nurses and specialists when human care is needed.