WIN's new benefit supports women through high risk pregnancies

Maternal healthcare has come a long way, but there is still a need for additional support for mothers facing high risk pregnancies. In response, family building and fertility benefits platform WIN expanded their benefit offering to better meet those needs.     

More than 80% of maternal deaths are considered preventable, according to the Center for Disease Control. That statistic is compounded by the fact that many of the primary drivers, like preeclampsia, hemorrhage and postpartum depression, could have been addressed through early intervention strategies and support. 

"This problem is affecting a big population and it's ready to be solved," says Dr. Roger Shedlin, CEO at WIN. "It was the combination of these health trends and the employers in our network looking to help that drove our interest." 

Read more: Why aren't we addressing the maternal health crisis?

Through WIN's maternity programs, employees now have access to a 24/7 nurse advocate who can provide them with personalized, ongoing support that is tailored specifically to their medical history, their preferences and personal family goals. Employees will also gain access to resources such as virtual maternity specialists, as well as doula and lactation support, and be rewarded with different incentives for participating and engaging with those resources in an effort to promote a healthier prenatal lifestyle. 

Part of the expansion also included a partnership with predictive and preventative care platform Mirvie to offer a personalized blood test that screens for preeclampsia risks and builds a preventative action plan based on the results. Patients can follow a treatment regimen that includes solutions such as aspirin therapy and at-home blood pressure monitoring, all of which can be  tracked within WIN's app. 

"In many instances, we're able to address these high risk pregnancies months before they fully manifest," Dr. Schedlin says. "Once all of the results are in, we can then use our system to find the kinds of treatments that will lead to better outcomes." 

Read more: How EY supports parents beyond maternity leave

More personalized benefits are here

Using benefits to meet more targeted health events, such as pregnancy complications, is a continuation of the trend towards more personalized care, which has positive outcomes for employees and employers alike. For example, preeclampsia costs the healthcare system up to $2.8 billion a year, according to the Preeclampsia Foundation. Addressing individual healthcare needs helps keep overall healthcare spending low. 

Dr. Schedlin anticipates that the demand for more specialty benefits will only continue to rise, and urges benefit leaders to start the process of diversifying their benefit suite as soon as possible. If not, they risk stunting their recruiting and retention efforts in the long-term. 

"Reproductive benefits overall are playing a bigger and more prominent role in employer benefit offerings," Dr. Schedlin says. "We've got these preventable areas that are highly visible and important to employees and programs like these can impact them in an incredibly positive way."