Mendara is a peer-to-peer support platform that helps women process difficult or traumatic birth experiences through expertly facilitated, anonymous group sessions. The service combines structured text-based group meetings led by trained facilitators with lived experience of birth trauma, alongside self-guided tools like journaling and a seven-day micro-experience. Mendara was developed in partnership with the Birth Trauma Association and is currently onboarding founding members at a discounted rate.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Many women who experience traumatic or difficult births never get the chance to process what happened, leaving them feeling isolated, invalidated, and unsure whether their experience even "counts" as trauma. Standard clinical treatments like EMDR can be exhausting and are not accessible or appropriate for everyone, while informal support often comes with unhelpful responses like "at least the baby is healthy."
Solution
Mendara provides a safe, guided, anonymous space where women can process their birth experiences through expertly facilitated group sessions with peers who genuinely understand. The platform matches each member with a small group of women who have had similar experiences, and they meet regularly in text-based group chats led by trained, trauma-informed facilitators with lived experience of birth trauma. Between sessions, members access self-paced tools including journaling prompts, reframing exercises, mantras, and a structured seven-day micro-experience to support continued processing. Sessions are recorded and analyzed using AI tools that help facilitators identify signals requiring attention and improve session quality, though the service is explicitly peer-to-peer and non-clinical, with referrals to external professional support when needed.
Target Audience
Primary users are women who have experienced traumatic or difficult births and are seeking peer support in a structured, anonymous group setting, particularly those who do not require or are not ready for clinical mental health treatment.
Features
- Anonymous, text-based group sessions facilitated by trained, trauma-informed facilitators with lived experience of birth trauma
- Matching algorithm that pairs members into small groups based on shared birth experiences and circumstances
- 20+ guided moments including journaling, reframing exercises, and mantras for between-session processing
- Seven-day structured micro-experience designed to help members process at their own pace
- AI-powered session analysis that supports facilitators by highlighting participant signals and evaluating session quality
- Session recordings and transcripts used for research into participant needs and outcomes, with anonymization attempted where possible
- Code of conduct and safeguarding protocols, including facilitator referral to external support services when a participant requires clinical care