Phygital Product
Simplifying Pregnancy Monitoring
The Big Picture
Echo is a maternal health monitoring device designed for expectant mothers, especially those facing high-risk pregnancies. In a world where pregnant women juggle multiple medical tools, frequent hospital visits, and limited rural access, Echo combines three critical vitals—blood pressure, glucose, and fetal heartbeat—into one simple, seamless device.
Project Type
Solo+Group Project
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
January 2024- March 2024
Tools
Figma, Miro, Blender
What do pregnant women need?
Pregnant women need to track blood pressure, fetal heart rate, and blood glucose at regular intervals—as they are key indicators of high-risk complications that threaten both mother and baby.
My objective :
Seamless Syncing:
Connects the device and app for real-time health tracking.
Maternal Health :
Improve maternal health awareness by offering insights and alerts based on real-time data.
Smart Insights :
Real-time alerts and maternal health insights.
Personalized Support:
Reminders, recommendations, and data visualization to enhance engagement.
Target Audience
Expectant mothers in rural areas seeking a simple, reliable way to monitor their health and baby’s well-being from home.
18-45 years
As a curious observer of how we navigate care in India, I’ve noticed that pregnancy often becomes a test of endurance rather than celebration. In small towns and cities alike, expectant mothers in their third trimester juggle half a dozen devices — blood pressure cuffs, glucose meters, hospital visits for fetal checks — each demanding precision and patience.
Solution
Mastering the Swiss Knife Of Healthcare
Just as the Swiss knife brought order to a cluttered toolbox, Echo reimagines how pregnant women interact with their health.
In India, expectant mothers often rely on scattered biomedical devices — blood pressure cuffs, glucose meters, and hospital-only fetal dopplers — each demanding time, effort, and precision during an already vulnerable phase.
1. Discover
What should i focus on to improve maternal care ?
“Okay, so this exercise made me realize that while mothers are aware of visible challenges like nausea or body changes, so many “unknown unknowns” — emotional regulation, circulation issues, or posture strain — go unnoticed. It showed me how fragmented their support system really is, and how design could step in to make those invisible struggles visible"
As we moved into stakeholder mapping, we saw a clearer picture of everyone involved — doctors, nurses, husbands, mothers-in-law, and local health workers. Each plays an important role, but they often work separately, showing that communication gaps affect the pregnancy experience as much as medical ones do.
"There’s a gap between hospital care and what women actually experience at home — a space where a supportive product could truly make a difference."
Primary Research
x 7 users
1. Most pregnant women experience back pain, swelling, fatigue, and difficulty doing simple tasks like bending or mopping. 2. Difficulty sleeping and discomfort from restricted sleeping positions are common. 3. Emotional struggles like anxiety, depression, crying, and low energy occur frequently. 4. Weakness, nausea, anemia, high blood pressure, and other health issues are common.
I noticed that many women face constant physical discomfort, feel left out because they aren’t familiar with digital tools, and often go through pregnancy feeling emotionally alone.
"The product has the potential to create real social impact by supporting education and emotional well-being — but it needs to first build trust and be simple enough for women to use comfortably."
Card Sorting
I organized user needs and pain points into categories to identify overlapping themes and cognitive load areas.
“I realized that pregnancy isn’t just physical — it’s emotional and mental too, which means the design needs to feel intuitive and empathetic, not just functional.”
I plotted all identified pain points and opportunities to prioritize the most critical and achievable ones- High-impact, low-effort areas — such as early detection and awareness — became the focus for product direction.
User & Expert Insights
Monika Patel:
“Even simple tasks like cleaning became difficult — aching joints, swelling, and exhaustion. By the ninth month, I couldn't eat properly, and postpartum, I cried constantly, unable to bend, sleep, or sit for long.”
Dr. Sonam Baxi:
“Weakness and nausea were common in the first trimester, cramps and swelling in the second, and acidity with sleepless nights in the third. Nutritional deficiency and anemia were constant.”
Dr. Renuka Gupta:
“The first trimester was tough — fatigue, body aches, vomiting, and breathing issues. Deficiencies and high blood pressure made it worse.”
Dr. Siddhi Kokate:
“Weakness, vomiting, and loss of motivation were common early on. Diabetes, BP, and swelling worsened later, leading to a C-section. Anxiety was constant, but regular check-ups and home monitoring were crucial.”
Pregnant women struggle with sleeping positions in the second and third trimesters due to posture restrictions, discomfort, and body aches. Depression, overthinking, continuous crying, and lack of energy are common, with emotional support often unavailable. Pregnancy edema and varicose veins limit mobility, while simple activities like mopping or bending become challenging. Poor posture worsens back pain and ligament strain, yet most women lack guidance on improving it.
2. Empathize:
Understanding user needs and pain points
Based on research findings, the focus was placed on understanding pregnant women’s physical discomfort, emotional struggles, and challenges related to monitoring to prioritize their overall comfort and well-being.
How might we design a user-friendly device that enables pregnant women, particularly those with a history of preeclampsia, to monitor their blood pressure, fetal heart rate, and blood glucose levels at home, therefore reducing anxiety about potential complications?
3. Ideate :
Designing solutions that simplify user interactions and enhance overall experience.
Sketching Ideas
4. Prototype
The prototype adds clarity and ease to the monitoring experience.
Lo-Fi Wireframes
Visual style
I chose the primary colour as blue since it is associated with calmness, trust, and reliability, which are essential for pregnant women monitoring their health.
Design system
I implemented a consistent design system to ensure clarity and visual harmony.
Reflection and Next Steps
To put it simply, On one side, the mother tracks her three vitals. A single device collects the data and sends it to the cloud. From there, it flows into two channels — a mobile app for the mother and physician, and in the future, a simple web dashboard. And because it’s a closed loop, if something looks wrong, alerts make sure action is taken on time.
We would sell Echo to rural clinics, mothers use it for 3 months to track their health, doctors get real-time insights for better care, and then devices are reset and reused
What i Learned :
Learned the importance of prioritizing user comfort and real-life challenges in pregnancy.
Understood how low-tech and high-tech solutions can complement each other in user experience.
Realized the value of visualizing ideas and user journeys to make design decisions clearer.
Next Steps:
Test the prototype with real users to gather feedback and refine interactions.
Explore additional low-tech and high-tech combinations for broader accessibility.
Develop a more detailed design system to maintain consistency across all touchpoints.