Oula is a New-York based maternity clinic focused on pregnancy and child birth, that currently operates two brick-and-mortar locations in Brooklyn and Downtown Manhattan, as well as offering a comprehensive suite of virtual care services. After raising $3.2M in seed funding in October 2020, the company has now announced its $19.1M Series A. The round was led by 8VC with participation from existing investors Metrodora, Female Founders Fund, January Ventures, Rock Health, Black Jays, as well as a number of noteworthy angel investors including Maven Clinic Founder Kate Ryder. Oula plans to use the new funds to build out its full-service maternity care service, which will include prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care.
Oula was founded by Adrianne Nickerson and Elaine Purcell in 2019, and combines obstetrics and midwifery to provide a customised, evidence-based pregnancy experience. The company’s vision is to make best-in-class maternity care accessible to all, and it accepts a number of major insurances, including Medicaid, which is used to cover around 40% of birth in the US.
Oula Co-founder & CEO Adrianne Nickerson shares with Tech Funding News: “Ask just about anyone who has been pregnant or is considering giving birth in the U.S., and it’s clear that when it comes to maternity care, the status quo isn’t serving anyone. Between miserable patient experiences, poor health outcomes, and extraordinarily high costs, there is room for improvement, to put it mildly. At Oula, we are focused on providing a great experience and great outcomes for our patients. That means listening to and taking their concerns seriously, prioritizing mental health as well as physical, approaching this work through a lens of equity and inclusivity, hiring diverse and culturally competent staff, providing trauma-informed care, emphasizing the importance of postpartum care, and empowering patients to advocate for themselves.”
Oula Co-founder & COO Elaine Purcell adds: “This funding makes it possible to expand Oula’s care offerings to include sonography and further group support. Oula is proud to offer parents and their babies community and guidance not only up to delivery, but through ‘the fourth trimester.’ In addition to our postpartum office hours and dedicated monthly space for BIPOC patients and families, we are grateful for the ability to offer new opportunities for groups to come together to work through experiences such as pregnancy loss with the help of trained staff. Pregnancy and early parenthood can be isolating and lonely, and we view our community support offerings as a key part of our patients’ care.”
8VC Foundering Partner Kimmy Scotti, who led Oula’s Series A comments: “Oula’s growth sends a simple but unmistakable message: Maternity care can and must be better. Oula’s transformative approach is not only refreshing – it’s desperately needed.”
