As a founder who has navigated the maternal journey myself, I’ve seen firsthand how the healthcare system fails women at their most vulnerable moments. But the gap between what new mothers need and what they receive isn’t just a personal frustration—it’s a $14 billion crisis hiding in plain sight.
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affect one in five women, making them the most common complication of childbirth. Yet 50% remain undiagnosed, and 75% of those diagnosed never access treatment. The consequences are devastating: untreated maternal mental health conditions are linked to preterm birth, preeclampsia, disrupted mother-infant bonding, and tragically, suicide—now a leading cause of maternal death in the first postpartum year.
The Treatment Gap No One Talks About
The statistics reveal a broken system. When a woman screens positive for depression at her OB appointment, she typically faces a five-week wait to see a mental health provider—if she can find one at all. Many communities lack perinatal mental health providers entirely. Even when care is available, the barriers are overwhelming: childcare logistics, transportation challenges, work conflicts, insurance complications, and the stigma that still surrounds maternal mental health.
The result? Most women who need help never get it. And the costs compound—not just in healthcare spending, but in long-term outcomes for children, workforce productivity losses, and preventable maternal deaths.
What Happens When We Close the Gap
At Seven Starling, we built a virtual maternal mental health platform specifically designed to eliminate these barriers. We recently published our first Patient Outcomes Study from over 6,000 women across 18 states, and the results demonstrate what’s possible when we get this right.
Three innovations drive our results:
First, we automate screening in provider workflows. Our digital platform integrates directly into OB/GYN and pediatric practices, making it effortless for frontline providers to identify at-risk patients. Interestingly, we found that 23% of women opt into care even though only 20% screen positive—suggesting many women know they need help but won’t self-report without a low-barrier pathway to support.
Second, we eliminate referral leakage through proactive care navigation. Dedicated care coordinators contact patients within 24 hours of referral and match them with specialized clinicians within one day. Women are seen within seven days on average—not five weeks. This rapid response prevents the clinical deterioration that occurs when symptoms go untreated.
Third, we deliver specialized and convenient care. Virtual sessions eliminate transportation and childcare barriers. Our clinicians are trained specifically in perinatal mental health and operate across 18 states with expansion to 30+ states by 2026, extending access to rural and underserved communities that often lack local specialists.
Outcomes That Prove the Model Works
Our outcomes study reveals what’s achievable when screening connects to timely, specialized care:
- 90% of patients who completed treatment achieved clinically significant improvement, with an average 5-point reduction on PHQ-9 scores—the difference between struggling to function and reclaiming joy in early motherhood
- 62% experienced symptom improvement within just two months, the critical intervention window before delivery or during early postpartum
- Over 70% of women referred actually engaged in care, compared to traditional models where most women never complete intake
- 97% reported their therapeutic engagement as valuable, reflected in our 4.9 out of 5 patient satisfaction rating
Perhaps most significantly for equity: 37% of our patients identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, with 50% of BIPOC patients accessing mental health resources for the first time through our platform. We intentionally built a clinical team where>50% of providers identify as BIPOC, recognizing that culturally competent care improves engagement among populations experiencing both higher maternal morbidity and greater barriers to mental health support.
Why This Matters Now
The maternal mental health crisis represents one of healthcare’s most solvable challenges. We have evidence-based treatments. We have technology that can eliminate access barriers. And now we have outcomes data proving the model works at scale.
For health systems, early intervention prevents costly complications like preterm births and NICU admissions while supporting quality metrics. For payers, it reduces emergency utilization and addresses HEDIS measures. For employers, it reduces disability claims and parental attrition.
But beyond the business case, there’s a moral imperative. When we founded Seven Starling, we named it after the birds known for murmurations—stunning formations created when starlings follow their seven nearest neighbors. It’s a reminder that together, we can achieve something greater.
One in five mothers shouldn’t have to suffer in silence. Our outcomes prove they don’t have to. The question becomes how quickly we can scale proven solutions to reach every woman who needs them.
Image Source: ID 211796770 | Mental Health Mom ©
Nicoleta Ionescu | Dreamstime.com
Tina Keshani
Tina Keshani is Co-founder and CEO of Seven Starling, a women's mental health company she has led for nearly six years with a mission to ensure every woman has access to specialized and affordable mental health care. Under her leadership, Seven Starling has served over 6,000 women across 18 states and recently published outcomes demonstrating 90% clinical improvement rates among patients who completed treatment. The company partners with major health plans covering over 100 million lives to make specialized maternal mental health care accessible and affordable.
Before founding Seven Starling, Tina led strategic growth initiatives at Warby Parker, including international expansion and in-network partnerships. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Denison University.
