Maven Clinic And Emily Oster Partner On A Free, Evidence-Based Tool To Help Parents Make Decisions About School And Child Care During COVID-19

New Survey of U.S. Parents Reveals that More than 3 in 5 Parents Still Do Not Have a 100% Clear Plan for the Fall

Parents With Children 5 Years and Younger Are Facing the Greatest Uncertainty, and Feel the Least Supported by their Employers

News provided by

Maven Clinic

Aug 12, 2020, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Maven, the leading women's and family digital health company, today announced it has partnered with Emily Oster, the New York Times-bestselling author of "Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, From Birth to Preschool" and professor of economics at Brown University, on the development of a free, evidenced-based tool to help parents decide whether to send their children out of the home to school or daycare, or keep them home for virtual learning. The COVID-19 Child Care Decision Tool, which is available on www.mavenclinic.com and on Oster's www.explaincovid.org, is an interactive framework for parents to assess the risks, benefits, and their unique circumstances so they can make the best schooling and child care decisions for their family. Career coaches, mental health experts, and other providers specializing in supporting parents are also available for virtual appointments on Maven's award-winning app.

New research of 1,000 US parents commissioned by Maven provides insight into how much parents are struggling to make child care decisions, and the factors driving their decision-making. The full results from the survey can be found here.

More than 3 in 5 parents do not have a clear plan for child care or school this fall. Parents with younger children are facing greater uncertainty: 72% of parents with kids age 5 and younger do not have a clear plan, compared with 44% of parents with kids between 11 and 17 years old who do have a clear plan.
Two-thirds of parents report feeling anxious as they navigate decisions about child care this fall. Parents whose youngest child is between 5 and 10 are more likely to be very anxious (50%) than those whose youngest child is less than 5 (37%) or between 11 and 17 (37%).
Nearly 60% of working parents do not feel supported by their employer as they navigate child care challenges. Parents with children under 5 feel less supported than parents with older children (ages 10 and up).

"There is an extraordinary amount of uncertainty facing everyone right now, particularly working families," said Kate Ryder, Founder and CEO of Maven. "We co-developed this tool to help support parents as they make important decisions for their family, and hopefully bring them more confidence and peace of mind."

"Parents are being forced to make difficult choices right now, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a parent who feels particularly great about any of the options in front of them," said Emily Oster. "While there's no magic solution, there is a way to feel more in control over the process by which we make these big decisions. By giving parents a clearer framework for weighing the choices, risks and benefits against their own set of values and circumstances, I'm hopeful that we can help them reason their way to more confident decisions."

In June, Maven announced the forthcoming launch of its Pediatrics and Parenting program with its acquisition of Bright Parenting. This first-of-its-kind program will integrate coaching for parents and specialized pediatric support, improving behavior and health outcomes for both parents and children. From providing access to specialized providers like pediatric nutritionists and infant sleep coaches, to bite-sized, clinically-guided content and behavioral health training for parents specific to each stage of childhood development, and vetted child care resources, Maven's Pediatrics and Parenting Program will be available to employer partners at the end of the year.

The launch of the COVID-19 Child Care Decision Tool marks Maven's latest initiative to support women and families during the pandemic. As COVID-19 has exposed significant gaps in care around fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and pediatrics, Maven has increased access to care, launched new expert-vetted resources dedicated to COVID-19, and created tailored, fast-track product offerings for employers and health plans looking to enhance their support of women and families during this time.

To access the COVID-19 Child Care Decision Tool, visit http://mavenclinic.com/emily-oster-childcare-decision-tool

ABOUT MAVEN
Maven is the leading women's and family digital health company, focused on improving maternal health outcomes while empowering all parents to grow their families while building their careers. Named Fast Company's #1 Most Innovative Company in Health in 2020, leading employers and health plans offer Maven's virtual clinic to support fertility, maternity, return-to-work, surrogacy, adoption, and parenting/pediatrics. Within each program, members get access to Maven's telemedicine network, the largest in women's and family health with 2,000+ providers across 20 specialties; Care Advocates available 24/7 who help members navigate their benefits and the broader healthcare system; as well as actionable, personalized content and virtual communities. Maven's user-centric approach delivers better clinical and financial outcomes while creating a more inclusive and accessible healthcare system for women and families. Founded in 2014 by CEO Katherine Ryder, Maven has raised $90 million, and is backed by Icon Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Oak HC/FT. Learn more at www.mavenclinic.com or engage with Maven on LinkedIn and Twitter.

ABOUT EMILY OSTER
Emily Oster is a Professor of Economics at Brown University. She holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard. Prior to being at Brown she was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School. Oster's academic work focuses on health economics and statistical methods. She is interested in understanding why consumers do not always make "rational" health choices — why do people not eat a fully healthy diet, or pursue all recommended preventative health behaviors? Her work also concerns methods for learning causal effects from observational data. Earlier academic work included studies of HIV in Africa (the topic of a 2007 TED talk) and medieval witchcraft. In addition to her academic work, Oster has written two books. "Expecting Better" analyzes the data behind many common pregnancy rules, and aims to improve decision-making for pregnant women. "Cribsheet" does the same for early childhood — what does the evidence really say on breastfeeding, co-sleeping or potty training. Oster lives in Providence, RI with her husband (also an economist) and two children.