MaternEase – AI-Enabled Mobile Health Companion for Pregnancy & Postpartum

Human Factors Healthcare Design Competition: Case Study

Overview

MaternEase is an AI-enabled maternal health app concept designed to pair with a lightweight maternity exoskeleton/soft-exosuit to reduce pregnancy-related musculoskeletal pain and improve posture, mobility, and recovery. The work was submitted to the 2025 HFES Mobile Health Application Design Competition and demonstrates expertise in human factors research, health-focused UX design, AI-assisted personalization, and ergonomics.

The Problem

Pregnancy introduces major biomechanical changes such as lumbar lordosis, pelvic tilt, reduced mobility, and increased compression forces that contribute to severe back pain and daily functional challenges.

Existing apps focus only on tracking, education, or general wellness.

There are zero digital solutions integrating physical support + data-driven feedback + personalized posture correction for pregnant or postpartum women.

Goal

Create a mobile health solution that:

  • Enhances the usability of an exoskeleton designed for pregnancy/postpartum support

  • Uses AI-assisted insights to personalize posture correction and activity guidance

  • Focuses on comfort, recovery, and patient–provider communication

  • Combines ergonomic support + health monitoring in one ecosystem

My Role

  • Lead UX/Human Factors Researcher

  • Systems Thinker – mapping exoskeleton functions to UI functionality

  • Designer – IA, dashboards, wireframes, and high-fidelity mobile screens

  • Health workflow analyst – applying human factors + maternal care needs

  • AI integration strategist

Research Process

  • Reviewed literature on pregnancy biomechanics & musculoskeletal pain

  • Identified gaps in existing exoskeleton and maternal health apps

  • Analyzed user groups: pregnant women, postpartum mothers, clinicians

  • Synthesized ergonomic requirements: spine load, posture alignment, pain episodes

  • Defined functional needs: posture alerts, exoskeleton adjustments, tracking, analytics

The Solution

1. Adaptive Onboarding

  • Personalized to trimester or postpartum stage

  • Introduces exoskeleton support + app benefits

2. Smart Dashboard

Provides real-time view of:

  • Pain levels (Bad → Mild → Intense)

  • Daily activity (steps, hours of rest)

  • Overall posture score

  • Exoskeleton usage analytics
    (Page 11)

3. Real-Time Posture Monitoring & Adjustment

Uses sensor data from the exosuit + AI pattern detection to offer:

  • Instant posture corrections (“Try straightening your back…” – Page 11)

  • Adjustable lumbar support controls (compression, angle)

  • Usage insights to encourage adherence

4. Clinician-Ready Data Visualization

  • Trends in usage, pain, sleep, activity

  • Can be exported for remote monitoring
    This bridges patients and care teams.

Human Factors Contributions

  • Applied biomechanics literature to define physical support requirements

  • Conducted task analysis for daily maternal activities

  • Designed the flow to reduce cognitive load and maximize one-handed use

  • Ensured clarity, legibility, and minimal effort interactions (critical in late pregnancy)

  • Validated the system design against identified use cases (Pages 3–5)

Impact

If implemented, MaternEase could:

  • Reduce back pain and musculoskeletal strain during pregnancy

  • Improve recovery for postpartum users

  • Offer clinicians actionable, remote-tracking data

  • Fill an unserved niche where maternal health meets wearable robotics

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