Coursework
The Birth Story
Team: Eindra Lin
Timeline: 6 weeks
Credits
Guidance — Ashley Deal, Raelynn O’Leary
Client — Sarah Burns, MSW, LSW; Tamar Krishnamurti, PhD
Photography — Unsplash, various
A proposal for a micro app that captures both medical and emotional moments of labor and delivery, helping parents reflect, remember, and share their experience
Childbirth is an emotional, fast-moving experience, and critical details—both medical and personal—often fade in the blur of the moment. Research showed that new parents, partners, and care teams struggle to retain essential information shared during labor and delivery, making postpartum recovery and reflection more difficult.
Our team proposed a Birth Story micro app to complement Myana, a postpartum support tool. This app helps parents capture key medical details, significant moments, and personal reflections in an intuitive timeline. By combining research-driven insights with thoughtful design, we created a space for parents to preserve, process, and revisit their birth story in a meaningful way.
Problem Space
Overcoming challenges in capturing medical, contextual, and emotional aspects of the birth experience
Our clients’ research revealed key challenges in documenting the birth experience. We focused on designing solutions to help parents retain medical details, capture important moments, and process their emotions. Without a structured way to do this, memory gaps can impact reflection, meaning-making, and overall well-being.
Prototyping
Exploring early concepts for capturing the birth experience
In our early prototypes, the timeline allowed parents to log moments, medical information, and journal entries. Moments let users quickly add funny or memorable events. For medical information, users could select categories like medications or procedures, add their own notes, or choose from suggestions, making the process flexible for detailed or quick records. Journal entries included free-form and prompted options, with emotions attached to each entry to color the timeline and add emotional context.
User Research
Simplifying journal entries, viewing the full story, and adding privacy based on user research
We conducted two user interviews with new mothers using the "think-aloud" method to gather feedback and refine our design. Based on their input, we simplified the journal entry process, as users found it too complicated. They appreciated how medical information was presented but wanted a way to view their entire birth story at once. Additionally, users expressed the need for more control over their entries, requesting the ability to set personal entries to private.
Final Designs
Finalizing the birth story experience with an interactive timeline, emotion-driven journaling, and smart, customizable features
The final design incorporates key features like a simplified journal entry process, an easy-to-view birth story timeline, and options for privacy and control. By addressing user needs, our design empowers birthgivers to document their experience in a way that feels personal and meaningful.
Reflection
The Birth Story project reinforced my belief that design should help people process and connect with their experiences. With my background in biology, psychology, and healthcare, I understood the need for a clear, supportive way to capture both medical and emotional details. Birth moves fast, and without structure, key moments can be lost. By blending research, empathy, and interaction design, we created a tool that helps parents not only document but also revisit and make sense of their journey—on their own terms.
