A new dad or mum typically has numerous questions on each little change they discover of their child.
“Is the infant sleeping sufficient?”
“Is my child feeding sufficient?”
“Is my child’s poop regular?”
“Is my child’s weight proper for his or her age?”
“The newborn isn’t latching correctly, what ought to I do?”
“How a lot formulation ought to I give my child?”
“My child is crying inconsolably. What ought to I do?”
Armed with a battery of questions, most new mother and father are not sure the place to search out the correct solutions. Nearly the whole lot appears like an emergency, and it isn’t all the time possible to hurry to the hospital, particularly for these in rural areas. Ideally, mother and father would have entry to a paediatrician who may assess the scenario and advise on the subsequent steps.
Dr Sumitra Meena witnessed this want firsthand throughout her residency. She ceaselessly encountered mother and father within the hospital who had been both overly anxious or had arrived too late — by which period their youngster’s situation had worsened. She would typically want that these mother and father had reached out to a paediatrician over the cellphone simply six hours earlier, to assist guarantee quicker restoration for his or her kids.
Hailing from a village in Rajasthan, Dr Sumitra was no stranger to the issues individuals in distant areas face in accessing healthcare. To deal with these challenges and supply immediate care for kids, she began Babynama, a digital paediatric care platform, in 2022. Her husband, Ashish Meena, an IIT Bombay graduate with over a decade of expertise in startups, joined the corporate a number of months later as co-founder, quitting his job to assist the mission.
Up to now two years, they’ve helped almost two lakh mother and father entry well timed care and determine early indicators of crucial circumstances akin to respiratory misery, epilepsy, autism, and
ADHD in kids, guaranteeing well timed medical intervention and higher outcomes.
Offering child healthcare around the clock
Born in a village in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, Dr Sumitra, 35, had skilled tragedy in her family as a toddler. Her sister had handed away simply hours after beginning as she was delivered at dwelling, they usually lacked entry to speedy healthcare.
This private loss motivated Dr Sumitra, then a younger lady, to pursue a profession in drugs. As the primary graduate in her household, she labored laborious to finish her MBBS and MD in Pediatrics from Girl Hardinge Medical School in New Delhi. She then accomplished her three-year senior residency at Safdarjung Hospital, an expertise that deepened her need to do extra.
She wished to assist mother and father keep away from exposing their kids to a hospital setting unnecessarily.
“I might see two varieties of fogeys on the emergency room: those that had been overly anxious and rushed in, and those that got here too late when their youngster was already very in poor health. I all the time felt that each conditions may very well be improved if mother and father spoke to a paediatrician first,” Dr Sumitra tells The Higher India.
“Many mother and father wait till morning to go to the hospital as a result of they don’t need junior docs treating their child. Throughout these six to eight hours, the infant’s situation can worsen. What if they may communicate to a paediatrician at 1 am?,” she provides.
When Dr Sumitra embraced motherhood 4 years in the past, she seen her husband asking the identical questions that plague any new dad or mum’s thoughts. Having a paediatrician as his spouse helped allay his fears and saved him from standing in queues on the hospital.
This impressed Dr Sumitra to create a digital paediatric care platform that may immediately reply the questions of fogeys.
After months of analysis, she began a WhatsApp group in 2022. Via phrase of mouth and sharing it with sufferers and buddies, the group shortly started to develop. Initially, Dr. Sumitra managed all of the calls and messages herself, providing the service totally free. Quickly, mother and father started sharing it with others.
“I might get calls from all around the nation, together with distant villages from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and extra. From 250 members, we grew to 500 over a number of months. Quickly, I used to be dealing with greater than 1,000 questions every day,” says the Gurugram resident.
As affected person numbers elevated, Dr Sumitra onboarded further docs to offer round the clock assist. Babynama now has 50 paediatricians on board who provide chat assist until 11 pm and name assist 24/7. She additionally began considering of the way to succeed in extra individuals, thus creating pages on Instagram and YouTube to coach mother and father.
To assist maintain the service, she finally launched a small session price of Rs 100 per name. By March 2023, with over 1,000 every day queries and 1,000 members, Babynama expanded to a full-fledged web site and utility.
Making paediatric care accessible: How Babynama works
Initially providing 24/7 assist for brand new mother and father, Babynama has since added new programmes to fulfill the evolving wants of fogeys.
“Mothers started asking questions on breastfeeding, beginning solids, nutritious meals, and sleep. To resolve these queries, we onboarded lactation consultants, nutritionists, and sleep specialists, and created programmes across the identical,” says Dr Sumitra.
Babynama’s plans begin at Rs 499. The Important Care plan, priced at Rs 1,999, offers entry to a WhatsApp group with paediatricians, 24/7 video consultations, and month-to-month milestone check-ups. Their Holistic Care plan, which incorporates entry to a devoted paediatrician in a personal group together with breastfeeding and diet assist, is on the market for Rs 3,999.
Moreover, they provide specialised programmes such because the Solids Introduction Course, Breastfeeding Coaching Program, Child Vitamin Program, and Sleep Coaching Program. The Holistic Care programme stays their bestseller, with 7,200 paid clients, whereas over two lakh individuals have attended their free webinars. Their Instagram web page has garnered over 4 and a half lakh followers.
Manisha, from Mahendragarh, Haryana, was looking for a great physician after her child’s beginning. Residing in a distant city, she explains that she must journey 150 km to see a certified paediatrician. After discovering Babynama on Instagram, she joined their WhatsApp group when her child was simply 13 days previous and has remained a person for over a 12 months.
“We don’t have a certified physician close by, and travelling for 4 hours is just not sensible with a new child. However Babynama has been a lifesaver — I’ve been in a position to get all my queries answered immediately, from breastfeeding and colic points to discovering the correct child merchandise to forestall rashes,” says Manisha.
Mallika, a first-time mom from Indore, echoes Manisha’s sentiments. Though she has entry to certified docs, she notes that it’s laborious to ask each query throughout a go to to a paediatrician, as time is usually restricted. “With Babynama, I can ask each single doubt and get an instantaneous reply. Whether or not it’s about progress monitoring, milestones, weight checks, or the correct time and dosage for paracetamol, each concern is addressed. We’ve got the freedom to ask something, which is nice,” shares Mallika.
For Dr Sumitra, the purpose is to offer the correct assets to folks, whether or not or not it’s a new child or a five-year-old, all beneath one roof. “Our mission is to make high quality healthcare accessible, regardless of which nook of the nation you’re in. I don’t need anybody to lose their youngster like my mother and father did as a result of a scarcity of amenities,” she emphasises.
Babynama additionally plans to make its providers extra reasonably priced, aiming to succeed in all sections of society. With the assistance of AI (Synthetic Intelligence), they’re constructing a chatbot on their app, which can have solutions to widespread questions.
“Mother and father can merely obtain the app, ask a query, and get a solution. In case they want additional help, they’ll e book a session. We’re planning to launch plans ranging from Rs 99 per 30 days,” she says.
For Dr Sumitra, essentially the most satisfying half has been serving to mother and father. She recounts her first name, the place she recognized a toddler with autism.
“The decision was from a dad or mum in Rajasthan, an MBBS pupil who felt one thing was mistaken together with his youngster, however consultations with eight docs had led nowhere. Just a few questions in, I realised the infant was autistic and suggested him to begin remedy. He quickly moved to Delhi since remedy wasn’t obtainable in his village,” she shares.
Three months later, she obtained a name from the kid’s mom. “With tears in her eyes, she referred to as me an angel. Her youngster was now thriving and interacting with different youngsters. There was a stark enchancment in him after remedy. It was among the finest days of my life,” says Dr Sumitra.
Wanting ahead, she hopes to broaden Babynama’s attain to extra areas, in order that it may be on the forefront of revolutionising accessible healthcare all through the nation.
Edited by Khushi Arora, Photographs Courtesy Ashish Meena
