On-demand midwife app eyes new funding

A platform designed to provide an on-demand private midwifery service is looking to secure £100,000 after embarking on a new crowdfunding campaign.

HomeMidwife aims to support mothers during and after pregnancy, allowing them to make an appointment for a teleclinic session or schedule a visit at their own home.

Midwives, who can manage work through a mobile app, will be assigned based on their availability, with features included for scheduling and geo navigation.

The company has currently raised £44,156 from 46 investors on Crowdcube. The campaign will remain live for a further 30 days.

A statement on the firm’s crowdfunding page said: “Giving birth is a very scary experience for any mother. In recent years, driven by cost-cutting at the NHS, demand for independent midwives has increased.

“However, the freelance midwifery market is still fairly old-fashioned. In our experience, midwives and mums are usually connected through word of mouth or advertisements on billboards.

“The midwives often work at the NHS and it is our opinion that they would struggle for time to advertise their private midwifery service.

“We aim to change that by making it easier for mums to look for professional and experienced midwives.

“Funds will be used to further improve the functionality of the web platform and scale-up the coverage in London and increase the recruitment of midwives to 200.”