May’s Maven Story: When the nurse becomes the patient

As a nurse practitioner, when May became pregnant with her first child she knew she wanted to learn as much as possible. But when her in-person Ob-Gyn referred her to a list of maternity classes through her hospital system, she was shocked to find them totally booked up.

“Most were virtual, some were in person, and yet all were completely full,” she told us. “The only slots even available were very limited, and didn't work for my schedule.” 

At that point, May began to doubt her own instincts. Did she actually need extra help? Couldn’t she manage on her own? Was this something she was really going to chase down and pay for? 

“I was like, I'm a nurse practitioner. Sure, I don't care for pregnant women specifically, but at least I have some foundational knowledge,” she said. 

And just like that…a Maven pamphlet arrived with her name in the mail, saying her access could be covered by her insurer.

 “To be honest with you, I thought, there's no way. This is too good to be true. What's the catch?” May said. “I'm a very intuitive person, so when that came in the mail, I was like, oh, maybe this is a sign that I would benefit from some additional support.”

Turning guidance into action

It wasn’t too good to be true. May had full access through her insurance plan, Blue Shield of California, which partners directly with Maven. She scheduled an initial call with her Care Advocate, and was immediately pleasantly surprised. 

“It was so organized, with so many resources on pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum. You could speak to a mental health coach or a doula or a pediatrician,” she said. “So, I was like, why not? I might as well just go ahead and sign up for everything that I can. And so that's pretty much what I did.”

As a first time mom, May knew she wanted to dive deep into the basics of what labor would look like. In her 90-minute birth planning session with a Maven doula, she did exactly that. “My doula just kind of went with me from hour zero to delivery of what to expect.” They covered every phase of labor—from contractions to her water breaking. “It was very specific, and that was really helpful.” 

While her in-person Ob-Gyn told May she needed to time her contractions once they started, she left her appointment wondering how one actually does that. Her doula helped vision what that looked like. “I remember when I was in labor, I started having this experience of shaking while undergoing contractions. And I was like, oh, I remember this must be transitional labor, and my doula had mentioned that sometimes it makes people shake,” she said.

Likewise, a Maven pediatrician had even helped prepare her for what the baby’s first appointment would look like in the hospital. “I’m type A that way, and it was helpful to have an exact idea of, When are they coming in? What are they testing for? What should I look out for?”

Building her mental health toolkit 

May knew that pregnancy would bring out existing anxieties, and with Maven she was able to get ahead of them.

“My anxieties come out around family,” she said. She wanted tactical strategies to deploy at all stages of parenthood with relatives—from how to control who was in the delivery room, to when she allowed people to meet her newborn.

She met with a Maven mental health provider, who helped map out options. “They were able to give me insight on some boundaries that you can set and things that you can expect, including things I didn’t even really think about—like that the nurses can be there to advocate for you in the delivery room,” she said. 

May also feared she may be at risk for postpartum depression. With her Maven mental health provider, she discussed warning signs and what a toolbox of support could look like. 

Ultimately, when May decided she wanted to develop a long-term relationship with a therapist who could follow her after her pregnancy, her Maven mental health provider helped define what she was looking for.

When healthcare actually has time for you

As a nurse, May couldn’t believe how much she had to learn about pregnancy—and couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to not have Maven. “Being a provider myself, if I'm confused, I can only imagine how somebody who has no idea what these words even mean would feel,” she said.

For May, it felt like a true gift in a healthcare system that rarely offers providers the time and space to go into extensive detail. “I wished every pediatrician could have this kind of conversation with the moms of their patients.”

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