Pomelo Care, a virtual maternity care platform, announced it acquired The Doula Network of credentialed, in-network doulas, increasing its covered lives to more than 15 million and more than one in six Medicaid beneficiaries nationwide.

The acquisition comes in the wake of Pomelo's $46 million Series B funding round in June. 

The Doula Network will be fully integrated into Pomelo Care's care model, which includes virtual 24-hour care from a team of OBGYNs, pediatricians, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

By adding The Doula Network, patients will be able to partner with a community-based doula whose team will work with the patient's existing healthcare providers to manage medical, behavioral and social demands.

"Health plans are rapidly integrating doulas into their networks to meet growing demand and they have overwhelmingly chosen The Doula Network as their partner, making them the clear market leader. This in-person, community-focused approach, coupled with our existing virtual care model, will allow us to scale dramatically, accelerate our work delivering evidence-based maternity care, and continue to address the maternity healthcare crisis in America," Marta Bralic Kerns, founder and chief executive officer of Pomelo Care, said in a statement. 

Elizabeth Simmons, founder and chief executive officer of The Doula Network, who will assume the title of head of doula network for Pomelo Care, said that by acquiring the Doula Network, Pomelo Care is expanding access to evidence-based maternity care and supercharging the doula ecosystem nationwide.

"With a worsening maternal and infant health crisis and too many women not knowing where to turn for support, this acquisition will allow us to scale our doula network and meet rapidly increasing commercial and Medicaid demand for community-based doulas," Simmons said in a statement.

"I could not be more proud of the company we built and am thrilled to be joining forces with Pomelo Care to bring our high-quality doula care together with Pomelo's personalized, evidence-based maternity care model."

THE LARGER TREND

In 2023, Pomelo Care scored $33 million in seed and Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. 

Other companies in the maternity care space include Diana Health, a network of women's health practices that partners with hospitals and health systems to provide mental healthcare, preconception and family planning, wellness coaching, and virtual and in-person classes.  

In 2023, Diana Health secured $34 million in Series B funding, bringing its total raise to $46 million. Norwest Ventures Partners led the round. 

In 2022, Diana Health scored $11 million in Series A funding, which the company used to help launch its first location. The round was led by LRVHealth and .406 Ventures, with participation from AlleyCorp. 

In 2023, maternity-care management platform Dorsata, filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts Civil Court against healthcare technology company Athenahealth and nationwide women's health company Unified Women's Healthcare, alleging 11 counts, including theft of trade secrets, unjust enrichment, breach of contract and tortious interference with current customers. 

In 2020, Dorsata scored $5.2 million in Series A funding. Gore Range Capital, Fool Ventures, Women’s Health USA, QED Investors and LabCorp participated in the round.    

In 2023, Ouma Health, a maternity telehealth platform, partnered with MedArrive, a care management platform merging telehealth and in-person care, to increase its mother and fetal in-home care services to women on Medicaid.