This episode of the InOn Health podcast features Simmone Taitt, CEO & Founder of Poppy Seed Health. Simmone shares her personal journey behind launching Poppy Seed Health and her experiences as a black woman in the tech industry, including efforts to reduce maternal mortality for black women.
Show Notes
In the fourth episode of the InOn Health podcast, KP welcomes Simmone Taitt, CEO & Founder of Poppy Seed Health. Simmone founded Poppy Seed Health after experiencing a traumatic miscarriage, with no follow-up support or wellbeing services. Her experiences inspired her to become a doula and launch a platform that provides on-demand, 24/7 text access and emotional support for pregnant women and those who experience miscarriages, provided by doulas, midwives, and nurses.
Simmone shares how her experiences growing up in a first-generation immigrant family shaped her view of the world and perspective of what defines diversity. She discusses how she integrated these views into her business, making it a priority to create opportunities for women and people of color. She explains how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the development of Poppy Seed Health, enabling her to build an effective business model and thorough team of investors, primarily inclusive of queer, women-identifying, and women of color.
Simmone addresses the maternal health gap for black women, as they are 3-5 times more likely to die in childbirth in comparison to their white counterparts. She explains how a lack of faith in the system prevents people from getting the necessary healthcare. Lack of education, awareness, and resources is a contributing factor in the gap. However, a detrimental factor includes the racist conception that black women have a higher pain tolerance. Simmone aspires to be part of the current disruptive wave occurring in health equity, creating a path forward while tackling the institutions and systems that have sustained the pre-existing health equity gaps.
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What is InOn Health Podcast?
Health equity issues in our country have been around for decades – largely impacting communities of color and rural areas. When it comes to economic and racial disparities in health the evidence is clear. This is more than a hot topic. Covid-19 has exposed the underbelly of how social determinants of health and racial disparities play out in our country. What we need now is to impart lasting change.
Welcome to the InOn Health podcast. I’m your host Kaakpema Yelpaala, and I’m the co-founder and CEO of InOn Health.
In this podcast we’re going to be talking about health equity. We’ll be talking to entrepreneurs, thought leaders, investors, and other industry experts in healthcare and public health. The topics we’ll cover will range from racial disparities in health to digital innovation for diverse populations, and ultimately how we build better policy to more inclusively serve everyone around their healthcare needs.
Join me on this podcast series to not only be inspired by our leaders but also to get insight on how we can all take action.