Matresa, a maternal health platform startup, has raised £315,000 in a pre-seed round led by SFC Capital. It is developing a clinical grade preventative platform for early screening and diagnostics that provides continuous, personalised support for women from conception through postpartum. The funding will be used to accelerate the development and rollout of the platform.
One in five women experience maternal mental health disorders and or serious complications following childbirth, many of which are preventable with earlier intervention and improved continuity of care. Matresa addresses this by providing structured preventative personalised support and screening for mothers and partners during maternity leave, while giving employers visibility and insight into a period that is typically unmanaged. The platform integrates clinical expertise, behavioural science, and data-driven insights to support mothers throughout matrescence.
Preventable maternal health issues are estimated to cost the economy between £13 and £15 billion each year through lost productivity, healthcare spending, and long-term social impact. One in three mothers leave the workforce within a year of childbirth, with employers facing replacement costs of between £30,000 and £150,000 per employee. The funding will enable Matresa to optimise its services to better support women and mothers across the United Kingdom.
Matresa was founded by former nurse Mari-Carmen Sanchez-Morris, whose experience working in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit highlighted the lack of support available to mothers before and after birth. Her personal experience of motherhood reinforced these findings and informed the development of the platform.
Poor maternal healthcare isn’t just happening in a vacuum: it affects other areas of healthcare, and stunts women’s career growth, which in turn impacts businesses and the wider economy. Tailored care isn’t a privilege - it’s a right. Women and mothers deserve to feel safe and supported, and we need to do more to tackle this crisis.
SFC Capital was delighted to lead this investment round in Matresa. We made this investment given the talent and strength of Mari-Carmen and the growing problem that the company is solving. She has demonstrated to us tenacity and determination in all our interactions, all of which suggest to us that she is 100% committed to improving maternal health for women everywhere.
