Latest news with #EstelleGiraud
Forbes
3 days ago
- Health
- Forbes
This Femtech Startup Is Fixing Postpartum Care
Mother feeling postpartum depression with baby in her arms. Many women suffer from postpartum blues ... More after giving birth. In fact, it is estimated that 50-80% of mothers suffer from the "baby blues". One in five new mothers in the U.S. experiences a postpartum mood disorder. Up to 10% develop thyroid dysfunction. Women with gestational diabetes face a 50% chance of developing Type 2 diabetes within five years. And those with hypertension during pregnancy are seven times more likely to face heart disease, the leading cause of women's death. Yet after childbirth, standard lab testing all but disappears, despite the fact that the first 40 days postpartum will shape the next 40 years of a woman's health, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Trellis Health aims to change that with the first at-home postpartum lab test, launching today. The $239 kit tests more than 30 biomarkers, including hormone, thyroid, nutrient, inflammation, and metabolic levels—all from the privacy of home, with results delivered in three to four days. It's a product designed not just for medical accuracy, but for the lived reality of new moms—filling a critical postpartum care gap in the U.S. healthcare system. Postpartum Lab Test Built For The Realities of Motherhood Trellis Health Tasso Device Estelle Giraud, CEO and co-founder of Trellis Health, didn't set out to become a femtech founder. She holds a PhD in population genetics, spent years in academic research, and helped build Illumina's U.S. precision medicine business into a $400 million division. But it was her IVF pregnancy—and a brush with postpartum preeclampsia—that inspired her to innovate in the women's health sector. 'I'm a healthcare optimist,' she said. 'The future is hyper-personalized, digital-first, and it's not that far away. But no one was building the infrastructure to get us there.' That realization led to the creation of Trellis Health, a women's health startup focused on giving patients control over their data and care. Its platform serves as an operating system for family health, integrating hospital and provider records into a unified timeline and offering 'care in your pocket' through asynchronous chat with certified nurse-midwives. The company's new lab test builds on that platform with a physical product designed for ease, comfort, and access. The test uses a Tasso device—a painless, stick-on patch that draws blood in 10 minutes from a woman's upper arm. There's no need for a clinic visit, no fear of needles, and no childcare coordination required. 'We built this for exhausted new moms,' Giraud explained. 'She shouldn't have to juggle naps, car seats, and 12 vials of blood to get care.' The test screens for more than 30 biomarkers tied to maternal health, including anemia, thyroid and hormone function, vitamin D, and signs of inflammation. Results are returned in three to four days, empowering women to walk into their six-week postpartum visit with real data—and fundamental questions to ask. During pregnancy, women are tested for dozens of conditions at regular intervals. But once the baby arrives, those metrics disappear—despite clear risks to maternal health. 'We test hundreds of biomarkers during pregnancy. Then we test nothing. That's a healthcare failure,' said Giraud. Conditions like postpartum anemia, undiagnosed thyroid disorders, and vitamin deficiencies can mimic or exacerbate postpartum depression, fatigue, anxiety, and long-term metabolic disease. But because they're rarely measured, they often go untreated. 'I had gestational diabetes and this is easier than my CGM [Continuous Glucose Monitoring]—the whole process was simple and so straightforward,' said Amara Bell, a Trellis Health customer and postpartum labs beta tester. 'This was my second pregnancy, and it's been game-changing for me to have everything in one place and not have to log into multiple portals and screenshot things to take to my different providers.' Trellis Health aims to change that—not just by offering an affordable test, but by reshaping how postpartum care is delivered and who controls the Femtech: Overcoming Bias In Venture Capital For Women Despite the clear need, raising capital for a femtech startup remains a challenge. Giraud was often told pregnancy was 'too niche'—a 'life stage' unlikely to lead to a scalable business. Her response? 'Everyone is here because someone was pregnant. That's not a niche.' Trellis Health's mission is bigger than postpartum: It's about building a consumer healthcare platform that supports people through all life stages, starting with one of the most overlooked. Venture Capital For Women Founders Still Lags BehindWomen startup CEOs receive just 14% of venture capital and often face questions about risk and responsibility—focused on prevention—while men are asked about scale and growth, a more promotion-oriented framing. This dynamic, documented by researcher Dana Kanze, shapes who gets funded—and how much. 'Male founders expect funding. Female founders expect skepticism,' Giraud said. 'We need to flip that script.' She succeeded by telling a confident, data-driven story—and by seeking out investors who already understood the market. Today, 80% of Trellis Health's cap table is women, including solo GPs and mothers who have lived through the postpartum experience themselves. 'Representation matters,' said Giraud. 'These women didn't need convincing—just data.' 'After the birth of my daughter, I struggled to get answers about my own health in the postpartum period,' said Genevieve LeMarchal, General Partner at Suncoast Ventures. 'Trellis is addressing exactly what I wish had existed—accessible, clinically relevant testing designed for new mothers. It's a smart and highly needed innovation that has the potential to transform postpartum care at scale for mothers.' Importantly, men are also on the cap table. Research reveals a troubling paradox: While female investors are more likely to back female founders, startups that raised their first round exclusively from women VCs were half as likely to secure follow-on funding. Attribution bias plays a role—subsequent investors often assume that female-led funding was driven by gender, rather than merit. Trellis Health is marketing directly to women, selling its lab kit for $239, which is eligible for HSA/FSA reimbursement. Without a massive advertising budget, the company is relying on a more powerful force: word of mouth. 'Women are hungry for a village,' said Giraud. 'They rely on peer recommendations—and they trust each other more than institutions.' Community networks, pregnancy forums, and postpartum support groups are driving early traction. With a medical advisory board backing its content, Trellis Health is leveraging trusted information and user experience to create momentum beyond traditional marketing. Closing The Postpartum Health Gap Through Data And Trust Women control 80% of healthcare spending, yet their postpartum needs remain routinely overlooked. What Trellis Health is doing isn't just filling a gap. It's redefining care. 'There's never been a moment in history with this much frustration, this much unmet need, and this many women willing to drive change through their dollars,' said Giraud. Her startup is betting on a future where at-home diagnostics, consumer healthcare platforms, and women's health innovation are no longer outliers—but the norm. Trellis Health's new postpartum lab test is more than a product. It's a signal that postpartum care finally matters—and that women, not institutions, are leading the charge.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Incredibly moving' app lets you feel your unborn baby's heartbeat through your phone
It's making waves! A new AI-powered app is giving expecting parents the chance to literally feel their unborn baby's heartbeat through gentle vibrations on their phone. Trellis Health's 'heartbeat feature' might sound spookily futuristic, but it delivers the opportunity for parents-to-be to experience their baby's pulse in their palm anytime they like. 'This feature offers a deeply emotional and tangible way for members, and their families, to connect with their baby during pregnancy, something that has traditionally been limited to fleeting moments in a clinic or sonogram room,' Estelle Giraud, CEO and co-founder of Trellis, told The Post. 'Feeling your baby's actual heartbeat, synced in real time through gentle vibrations, creates an intimate bond that helps make the pregnancy experience more real and present, especially in the early months when physical signs are subtle.' Giraud said the feature offers 'peace of mind' to parents feeling anxious between doctor's appointments. The doctor sends the ultrasound to Trellis for use in the app. 'It's a haptic loop to the beat of the recorded fetal heart rate directly from the ultrasound,' Giraud explained. 'The member taps the heart icon in the individual ultrasound, and the loop will continue until deactivating with another tap.' Any ultrasound that includes a fetal heartbeat can be used — though Giraud noted that 'earlier in-pregnancy stage ultrasounds do not always report a fetal heartbeat, but this doesn't mean that there isn't one.' The app, which launched on May 20, costs $96 a year. The Seattle-based health tech startup aims to address 'glaring gaps in women's health,' such as high maternal mortality rates, 'nearly nonexistent' postpartum care and an 'overwhelming and fragmented' healthcare experience. The app includes a straightforward, comprehensive view of your health history, help with questions to ask the doctor and easy access to midwife support. Recent adopters of the heartbeat feature seem to be impressed. Giraud said that 'the reactions have been incredibly moving,' with many parents describing it 'as a critical moment of connection to their baby.' 'Family members have also been deeply impacted, being able to hold and feel the baby's heartbeat has helped them feel more involved in the journey,' she added. 'We've heard everything from, 'I cried the first time I felt it' to 'It brought my partner and me closer to the pregnancy in a way we didn't expect.''
New York Post
09-07-2025
- Health
- New York Post
‘Incredibly moving' app lets you feel your unborn baby's heartbeat through your phone
It's making waves! A new AI-powered app is giving expecting parents the chance to literally feel their unborn baby's heartbeat through gentle vibrations on their phone. Trellis Health's 'heartbeat feature' might sound spookily futuristic, but it delivers the opportunity for parents-to-be to experience their baby's pulse in their palm anytime they like. Trellis Health's new 'heartbeat feature' offers parents-to-be the opportunity to feel their baby's pulse in their palm anytime they like. Trellis Health 'This feature offers a deeply emotional and tangible way for members, and their families, to connect with their baby during pregnancy, something that has traditionally been limited to fleeting moments in a clinic or sonogram room,' Estelle Giraud, CEO and co-founder of Trellis, told The Post. 'Feeling your baby's actual heartbeat, synced in real time through gentle vibrations, creates an intimate bond that helps make the pregnancy experience more real and present, especially in the early months when physical signs are subtle.' Giraud said the feature offers 'peace of mind' to parents feeling anxious between doctor's appointments. The doctor sends the ultrasound to Trellis for use in the app. 'The reactions have been incredibly moving, with many partners describing it as a critical moment of connection to their baby,' Estelle Giraud, CEO and co-founder of Trellis, told The Post. bongkarn – 'It's a haptic loop to the beat of the recorded fetal heart rate directly from the ultrasound,' Giraud explained. 'The member taps the heart icon in the individual ultrasound, and the loop will continue until deactivating with another tap.' Any ultrasound that includes a fetal heartbeat can be used — though Giraud noted that 'earlier in-pregnancy stage ultrasounds do not always report a fetal heartbeat, but this doesn't mean that there isn't one.' The app, which launched on May 20, costs $96 a year. The Seattle-based health tech startup aims to address 'glaring gaps in women's health,' such as high maternal mortality rates, 'nearly nonexistent' postpartum care and an 'overwhelming and fragmented' healthcare experience. The app includes a straightforward, comprehensive view of your health history, help with questions to ask the doctor and easy access to midwife support. Recent adopters of the heartbeat feature seem to be impressed. Giraud said that 'the reactions have been incredibly moving,' with many parents describing it 'as a critical moment of connection to their baby.' 'Family members have also been deeply impacted, being able to hold and feel the baby's heartbeat has helped them feel more involved in the journey,' she added. 'We've heard everything from, 'I cried the first time I felt it' to 'It brought my partner and me closer to the pregnancy in a way we didn't expect.''
Forbes
17-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
The Second Coming Of Personal Health Records
Trellis Health Co-Founder and CEO Estelle Giraud Two decades ago, some of the biggest names in tech attempted to transform how individuals manage their health data. Microsoft's HealthVault and Google Health both launched with bold ambitions: to create centralized platforms where patients could control and curate their personal health records (PHRs). Yet, despite vast resources and early hype, both efforts fizzled. The world wasn't ready. But now the dream is back, resurrected by a new wave of startups and, surprisingly, by the very institutions that had arguably stood in its way. From consumer-focused companies like Trellis Health to institutional giants like Epic Systems, people seem to believe again in the promise of personalized, portable health data. And this time, they might be right. What Went Wrong the First Time When Microsoft HealthVault launched in 2007 and Google Health in 2008, the concept of a digital personal health hub was revolutionary. It would unite all of your health data in one place, under your full control. Unfortunately, the infrastructure of healthcare was simply not prepared to support it. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) were barely digitized. Meaningful Use, the government policy that nudged providers into the digital era, had only just begun. Consumer devices like wearables were rare, and systems to connect disparate data sources were nearly nonexistent. Even more critically, these platforms demanded far too much from users. 'They required so much work from the consumer,' explains Estelle Giraud, co-founder and CEO of Trellis Health. 'You had to upload your medical records manually, scan documents, log information constantly. The average healthy person just isn't going to do that.' And so, despite the vision, the user base never followed. Google Health shut down in 2012; HealthVault was sunsetted in 2019. The personal health record was consigned to the graveyard of overambitious tech dreams. Why Today May Be Different So what's changed? First, the digital plumbing of healthcare is finally in place. 'Everything is digitized today,' Giraud says. 'We have global interfaces for wearables, insurance claims, and health systems. Technologically, it's a completely different environment.' The transition from paper to pixels is no longer aspirational. Second, the rise of consumer health consciousness has created a more engaged public. Wearables like the Apple Watch and Oura Ring have made health data personal. We now expect visibility into our steps, sleep, and heart rate. Why not our labs, diagnoses, or prescriptions? Finally, AI offers a bridge between data and action. Where early PHRs were glorified filing cabinets, today's tools can interpret, surface, and contextualize insights. This shift from data collection to decision support makes the work people put into their PHRs worth the effort. Sharpening Focus Trellis Health is an example of this new era. Giraud's company is far more than a digital file cabinet. It's a consumer-focused, AI-native health platform designed specifically for women in the pregnancy and postpartum periods—an intentionally sharp wedge into the broader market. 'Pregnancy is often the first time a healthy woman engages deeply with the healthcare system,' she notes. 'It's a moment of heightened awareness and motivation.' Trellis aggregates up to a decade of a woman's health history from 50,000+ provider sites, re-architecting it around chronology rather than billing codes, then overlays intelligent support. By doing so, it strives to be not just a logbook but a personalized guide through a transformative life experience. A PHR opens a range of related service offerings, as in the case of Trellis Health The use case is timely and targeted. Trellis focuses on postpartum lab testing, for instance, which is often a glaring gap in care. Women with gestational diabetes or hypertension often receive little follow-up, despite significantly higher risks of future heart disease or Type 2 diabetes. By sending at-home test kits before a six-week checkup, Trellis empowers women with data they can take to their doctors. It doesn't provide diagnosis, focusing instead on information and empowerment. This consumer-first model sidesteps the bureaucracy of U.S. healthcare. At $96/year, paid out-of-pocket or via HSA/FSA, it's an impulse buy for a motivated consumer—'almost chemical,' as Giraud puts it. What the Incumbents Are Doing Interestingly, EHR vendors are trying to build what they once broadly de-prioritized. Epic's MyChart, for example, now includes interoperability features that allow patients to access records from various health systems. The 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 has played a role here, forcing providers to open interfaces and enable data portability. Yet these systems remain fragmented. 'Even as a patient, you're with Epic 60% of the time, and with Cerner or others the rest,' says Giraud. 'They still don't get everything that happens in between visits.' Factors like wearables, environment, diet, and social determinants of health fall through the cracks. MyChart is a useful tool, but it still fundamentally lives within the four walls of the health system. Why Health Plans and Providers Haven't Solved This Many wonder: why haven't health insurers or large providers solved this problem? The answer lies partly in healthcare's misaligned incentives. 'Healthcare is a black hole,' Giraud argues. 'If you get too close, you get sucked in. The incentives, contracts, and bureaucracy are just too strong.' Payers struggle with member churn—why invest in long-term health when patients change plans annually? Providers, meanwhile, face tech stacks and billing structures optimized for volume, not value. Still, the tide is shifting. Companies like Flexpa are giving consumers access to insurance claims. A current legal standoff between Epic and Particle Health reflects the growing pressure for openness, as well as continuing concerns about data security and privacy. Lessons for Healthcare Entrepreneurs Building a business in healthcare is not for the faint of heart. Giraud, a former population genetics researcher and Illumina executive, is both optimistic and cautious. 'You can't just be a Silicon Valley entrepreneur in healthcare,' she warns. 'You have to understand the rules of the game, and which ones can be broken.' She urges founders to study history. 'So many companies failed not because their ideas were bad, but because they didn't understand the playing field.' At the same time, insiders often become too entrenched to innovate. The trick is to hold both perspectives: respect for the system and the courage to challenge it. Will It Work This Time? The promise of personal health records has returned. Companies like Trellis Health are betting that a targeted entry point, consumer-grade design, and modern infrastructure can finally realize the long-held dream of patient-centered data. This is not the same game as 20 years ago. The players are different. The tools are better. This time, it just might work.
Geek Wire
20-05-2025
- Business
- Geek Wire
Seattle startup Trellis Health launches to help women navigate pregnancy and postpartum care
GeekWire's startup coverage documents the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial scene. Sign up for our weekly startup newsletter , and check out the GeekWire funding tracker and venture capital directory . (Trellis Health Image) Trellis Health released its iOS app on Tuesday as the Seattle-based health tech startup aims to use AI and personalized data to improve healthcare for women. Founded in 2022, Trellis' software provides recommendations, insights, and tracking based on personal medical records and guidance from doctors and maternity specialists. It is focusing on pregnancy and postpartum care. Trellis CEO and co-founder Estelle Giraud is a scientist and a former senior manager at biotech giant Illumina. She co-founded Trellis with Ryan Nabat, a former engineer at BlueOwl, Spect, and Virta Health. The company is aiming to address what it describes as 'glaring gaps in women's health' and replace late-night Google searches. 'We're building the foundation for generational, proactive consumer health with a private and secure digital health platform that uses AI to translate years of your health context into actionable, intelligent insights paired with innovative care solutions,' Giraud said in a statement last month. The company does not take insurance and charges an annual subscription fee of $96. It is partnering with Milkwise to provide digital lactation consulting, and Mavida for mental health support. Trellis was recently featured in GeekWire's startup radar series and announced a $1.8 million seed round last month. It participated in the Techstars Seattle accelerator in 2023. Investors include Palette Ventures, NEXTBLUE, Suncoast Ventures, Sundial Foundation, and Swizzle Ventures, which has Seattle-area roots. Earlier this month the company added six medical professionals to an advisory board.
