A new parent often has countless questions about every little change they notice in their baby.
“Is the baby sleeping enough?”
“Is my baby feeding enough?”
“Is my baby’s poop normal?”
“Is my baby’s weight right for their age?”
“The baby isn’t latching properly, what should I do?”
“How much formula should I give my baby?”
“My baby is crying inconsolably. What should I do?”
Armed with a battery of questions, most new parents are unsure where to find the right answers. Almost everything feels like an emergency, and it isn’t always feasible to rush to the hospital, especially for those in rural areas. Ideally, parents would have access to a paediatrician who could assess the situation and advise on the next steps.
Dr Sumitra Meena witnessed this need firsthand during her residency. She frequently encountered parents in the hospital who were either overly anxious or had arrived too late — by which time their child’s condition had worsened. She would often wish that these parents had reached out to a paediatrician over the phone just six hours earlier, to help ensure faster recovery for their children.
Hailing from a village in Rajasthan, Dr Sumitra was no stranger to the problems people in remote areas face in accessing healthcare. To address these challenges and provide instant care for children, she started Babynama, a digital paediatric care platform, in 2022. Her husband, Ashish Meena, an IIT Bombay graduate with over a decade of experience in startups, joined the company a few months later as co-founder, quitting his job to support the mission.
In the past two years, they have helped nearly two lakh parents access timely care and identify early signs of critical conditions such as respiratory distress, epilepsy, autism, and
ADHD in children, ensuring timely medical intervention and better outcomes.
Providing baby healthcare round the clock
Born in a village in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, Dr Sumitra, 35, had experienced tragedy in her own family as a child. Her sister had passed away just hours after birth as she was delivered at home, and they lacked access to immediate healthcare.
This personal loss motivated Dr Sumitra, then a young girl, to pursue a career in medicine. As the first graduate in her family, she worked hard to complete her MBBS and MD in Pediatrics from Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi. She then completed her three-year senior residency at Safdarjung Hospital, an experience that deepened her desire to do more.
She wanted to help parents avoid exposing their children to a hospital environment unnecessarily.
“I would see two kinds of parents at the emergency room: those who were overly anxious and rushed in, and those who came too late when their child was already very ill. I always felt that both situations could be improved if parents spoke to a paediatrician first,” Dr Sumitra tells The Better India.
“Many parents wait until morning to visit the hospital because they don’t want junior doctors treating their baby. During those six to eight hours, the baby’s condition can worsen. What if they could speak to a paediatrician at 1 am?,” she adds.
When Dr Sumitra embraced motherhood four years ago, she noticed her husband asking the same questions that plague any new parent’s mind. Having a paediatrician as his wife helped allay his fears and saved him from standing in queues at the hospital.
This inspired Dr Sumitra to create a digital paediatric care platform that would instantly answer the questions of parents.
After months of research, she started a WhatsApp group in 2022. Through word of mouth and sharing it with patients and friends, the group quickly began to grow. Initially, Dr. Sumitra managed all the calls and messages herself, offering the service for free. Soon, parents began sharing it with others.
“I would get calls from all over the country, including remote villages from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and more. From 250 members, we grew to 500 over a few months. Soon, I was handling more than 1,000 questions daily,” says the Gurugram resident.
As patient numbers increased, Dr Sumitra onboarded additional doctors to provide round-the-clock support. Babynama now has 50 paediatricians on board who offer chat support till 11 pm and call support 24/7. She also started thinking of ways to reach more people, thus creating pages on Instagram and YouTube to educate parents.
To help sustain the service, she eventually introduced a small consultation fee of Rs 100 per call. By March 2023, with over 1,000 daily queries and 1,000 members, Babynama expanded to a full-fledged website and application.
Making paediatric care accessible: How Babynama works
Initially offering 24/7 support for new parents, Babynama has since added new programmes to meet the evolving needs of parents.
“Moms began asking questions about breastfeeding, starting solids, nutritious meals, and sleep. To solve these queries, we onboarded lactation experts, nutritionists, and sleep specialists, and created programmes around the same,” says Dr Sumitra.
Babynama’s plans start at Rs 499. The Essential Care plan, priced at Rs 1,999, provides access to a WhatsApp group with paediatricians, 24/7 video consultations, and monthly milestone check-ups. Their Holistic Care plan, which includes access to a dedicated paediatrician in a private group along with breastfeeding and nutrition support, is available for Rs 3,999.
Additionally, they offer specialised programmes such as the Solids Introduction Course, Breastfeeding Training Program, Baby Nutrition Program, and Sleep Training Program. The Holistic Care programme remains their bestseller, with 7,200 paid customers, while over two lakh people have attended their free webinars. Their Instagram page has garnered over four and a half lakh followers.
Manisha, from Mahendragarh, Haryana, was in search of a good doctor after her baby’s birth. Living in a remote town, she explains that she would have to travel 150 km to see a qualified paediatrician. After discovering Babynama on Instagram, she joined their WhatsApp group when her baby was just 13 days old and has remained a user for over a year.
“We don’t have a qualified doctor nearby, and travelling for four hours is not practical with a newborn. But Babynama has been a lifesaver — I have been able to get all my queries answered instantly, from breastfeeding and colic issues to finding the right baby products to prevent rashes,” says Manisha.
Mallika, a first-time mother from Indore, echoes Manisha’s sentiments. Although she has access to qualified doctors, she notes that it’s hard to ask every question during a visit to a paediatrician, as time is often limited. “With Babynama, I can ask every single doubt and get an immediate answer. Whether it’s about growth tracking, milestones, weight checks, or the right time and dosage for paracetamol, every concern is addressed. We have the liberty to ask anything, which is great,” shares Mallika.
For Dr Sumitra, the goal is to provide the right resources to parents, whether it be a newborn or a five-year-old, all under one roof. “Our mission is to make quality healthcare accessible, no matter which corner of the country you are in. I don’t want anyone to lose their child like my parents did due to a lack of facilities,” she emphasises.
Babynama also plans to make its services more affordable, aiming to reach all sections of society. With the help of AI (Artificial Intelligence), they are building a chatbot on their app, which will have answers to common questions.
“Parents can simply download the app, ask a question, and get an answer. In case they need further assistance, they can book a consultation. We are planning to launch plans starting from Rs 99 per month,” she says.
For Dr Sumitra, the most satisfying part has been helping parents. She recounts her first call, where she diagnosed a child with autism.
“The call was from a parent in Rajasthan, an MBBS student who felt something was wrong with his child, but consultations with eight doctors had led nowhere. A few questions in, I realised the baby was autistic and advised him to start therapy. He soon moved to Delhi since therapy wasn’t available in his village,” she shares.
Three months later, she received a call from the child’s mother. “With tears in her eyes, she called me an angel. Her child was now thriving and interacting with other kids. There was a stark improvement in him after therapy. It was one of the best days of my life,” says Dr Sumitra.
Looking forward, she hopes to expand Babynama’s reach to more areas, so that it can be at the forefront of revolutionising accessible healthcare throughout the country.
Edited by Khushi Arora, Images Courtesy Ashish Meena
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