- The Soula app has an AI chatbot, Dua, that helps mothers with postpartum depression support.
- AI chatbots like Dua aim to reduce healthcare burden and improve mental health accessibility.
- OB/GYN experts said they welcome innovation in AI to destigmatize questions about pregnancy.
Caring for a one-month-old newborn and two-year-old son felt overwhelming for LeRonika Francis.
During her first postpartum period, Francis said she experienced a severe wave of depression while dealing with a colic baby. In the end she sought the help of a counselor. It wasn’t until her most recent pregnancy that she also started using an AI-powered chatbot on the fem-tech app Soula, which she said helped reduce symptoms of depression and reassure her about her mental health.
“He tells me: “Welcome, LeRonika. Your reactions are natural,” said Francis, who is based in New Iberia, Louisiana.
The AI chatbot called “Dua” also sent her some videos she could watch about self-hugging, a practice that can reduce stress levels.
“I feel like Dua is there more than anything. That really showed me: OK, this is what you can do. Make sure you take time for yourself too, because that’s important too,” Francis said.
Soula was co-founded by Natallia Miranchuk and Andrei Kulik, who envisioned a 24/7 AI doula that could close the gap in mental health support for mothers during the pregnancy and postpartum periods. Rather than replacing medical providers, apps like Soula aim to increase broader access to maternal health care. Health care providers said these apps could also help reduce the burden on the health care system, where wait times can be long and workers face burnout.
Business Insider spoke to OB/GYN doctors and doulas, who largely welcomed the rise of AI chatbots because they can make information more accessible to patients.
According to data obtained from Sensor Tower, Soula now has more than 35,000 downloads. The startup has raised over $750,000 in funding and is backed by investors like Andrey Mikhaylyuk, former vice president of product at Flo Health, a period tracking app.
Miranchuk told BI that her experiences as a single mother of two and her work as a former maternity photographer inspired her to develop a support app for women. Originally conceived as a hub to connect doulas around the world with those in need, the generative AI boom shifted the startup’s focus to integrating a chatbot that could serve more populations.
“Women are ashamed to ask questions, even in the community, because they feel that maybe ‘as a mother I should know this, but I don’t. And she doesn’t know where to go,” said Miranchuk.
ChatGPT’s ease of customization has fueled a wave of new AI-based chats like Soula. According to Sensor Tower, companion apps Character.ai, Talkie and Paradot have more than 73 million collective downloads, growing more than 130% between 2023 and 2024. AI therapy applications such as Wysa AND Woebot received over 1 million downloads, the data said.
Corenia Smith, director of the Minnesota East Justice Collaborative, said that while popularizing tools like chatbots can help expand health care access, it’s important to avoid a “one size fits all” and ensure that AI can reflect the communities it serves.
“There are cultural practices that exist and have existed for thousands of years that people still use,” Smith said. “A human can talk about their whole experience and what they’ve seen and make referrals. When you reach that limitation with an AI, it has to have the ability to deliver care or make a referral in a way where people they don’t. feel down.”