Flourish Care announced it has raised $5.7 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round to expand its insurance-covered doula network and scale a new model of maternal care nationwide.
The Boston-based company is building a maternal healthcare platform that integrates credentialed doulas into the healthcare system through a hybrid model combining in-person and virtual support. The platform is designed to work directly with health plans, providers, and community organizations, enabling care coordination, referrals, and insurance reimbursement.
The funding round was led by Zeal Capital Partners, with participation from:
- Create Health Ventures, a healthcare-focused investment firm
- Collide Capital, an early-stage investor
- Rogue Women’s Fund, focused on women-led innovation
- Symphonic Capital, backing inclusive economic growth
- Slater Technology Fund, supporting technology-driven companies
- Catalytic Impact Foundation, focused on social impact
- Capita3, a venture investment firm
Flourish Care is scaling rapidly as policy and payer dynamics shift across the U.S., with 46 states actively reimbursing or implementing coverage for doula services. The company’s platform is already available to more than 20 million covered lives through national and regional commercial health plans and Medicaid.
Founded in 2020 by CEO Melissa Bowley, the company aims to close critical gaps in maternal care by providing continuous support between clinical visits. Its technology platform matches families with doulas based on factors such as culture, language, and location, while also enabling providers to integrate doula services into existing clinical workflows.
The company is also developing an AI-driven risk prediction engine that uses clinical and community-reported data to identify patients who may benefit from additional support earlier in pregnancy. By embedding doulas into healthcare systems, Flourish Care seeks to improve outcomes and reduce costly interventions such as cesarean deliveries and neonatal intensive care admissions.
Doula care has been shown to significantly improve maternal and infant outcomes. Research cited in the announcement highlights that doula support is associated with lower risks of cesarean delivery, preterm birth, and NICU admissions, while also generating cost savings for healthcare systems.
Flourish Care has built one of the largest doula networks in the country and has supported thousands of families since its founding. With this funding, the company plans to expand its national footprint, strengthen its technology platform, and further integrate doula care into insurance networks and clinical care models.
KEY QUOTES:
“When I was pregnant with my first child, I saw how much of maternal care happens between clinical visits and how unsupported women feel in those gaps. Now, with almost every state enacting reimbursement pathways for doula care, we have built the infrastructure to make sure every family can access that support. Maternal healthcare significantly improves when a doula is involved, yet they have been out of reach for too many families. That ends now as we expand nationwide.”
Melissa Bowley, Founder And CEO, Flourish Care
“The policy and payer landscape has finally caught up to what families have always needed. Flourish Care is building the scalable model that will fundamentally integrate doula care into clinical workflows, insurance networks, and women’s lives. We’re proud to partner with Melissa and her team as they bring equitable, high-quality doula care into the mainstream.”
Nasir Qadree, Founder And Managing Partner, Zeal Capital Partners
“When doulas are integrated into systems and covered by insurance, families, providers, and health plans benefit from vastly better outcomes and experiences. The largest national payers are partnering with Flourish Care, and women’s health organizations are choosing it as their doula network because the model is rigorously tested and clinically proven to be effective. Mothers can trust they are working with credentialed, high-quality doulas, and the demand for Flourish Care in the market reflects it.”
Emma Cartmell, Managing Partner, Create Health Ventures
