Wolomi CEO Layo George Is Making A Difference For Mothers Of Color
Layo George is on a mission to improve maternal health outcomes for women of color. With a background in healthcare as a nurse and healthcare administrator, she decided to launch Wolomi. What began as a nonprofit organization has transformed into a maternal health platform and community to support women during the pregnancy journey.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C, Wolomi is an app that gives subscribers access to weekly tips from a midwife of color to help prepare for provider appointments. There is also access to a variety of maternal health experts, events, and a community of amazing women to connect with. Ultimately, the goal of the platform is to help improve health outcomes for the community.
With Wolomi’s increasing popularity, Layo joined the Her Agenda INSIDER community for a Power Hour chat to discuss the importance of Wolomi in today’s environment. Check out a few highlights from the conversation:
Layo on why she created the Wolomi app:
“When I was pregnant, I didn’t want to die. That was kind of like the genesis for me. I worked as a maternal health nurse in labor and delivery, postpartum, you name it. And I saw the difference in what happens, what goes on. I was understanding the statistic that we are more likely to die on this journey. [As a woman of color], you’re still 3 to 4 times more likely to die compared to white women. So it’s kind of like, okay, I didn’t want to die. And on top of that, not only not die, I wanted to enjoy my pregnancy journey. So that’s really what started my journey in this space because of my background and because of what I know what happens.”
On what’s different about pregnancy for women of color:
“I would suggest approaching it like you would dating. You are dating your company, you are dating the team and the leader that you will be working with. So what do you do when you are about to date someone? I bet you’re going online. I bet you are asking your friends or you’re trying to do some research. And I would say that that should be the same process. You know, go online and look at the digital footprint. Start at the website. I would say first see if you see any reflection of your values and what you want to see out of that company online. You know, at the very least is that in their mission, is that in their vision statement, is it reflected in the imagery or anything? I will say to manage expectations and that you will see very few companies that are doing everything well, right? That’s very rare, but you should still see something reflected there.”
On the role of community during pregnancy:
“For us, mental health is very important. So our moms were telling us it’s very important that they find spaces that they can belong to. And, you know, yes, there are other spaces that you can belong to as a pregnant woman, as a postpartum woman, but many wanted to more. As society is evolving, we desire spaces that we can feel, that we can be loved on, and that we trust as we go through this very unique time of our lives. And our mental health is important because it’s important in our pregnancy experience. And we know that mental health directly affects our outcomes.”
Layo on the hardest part of entrepreneurship for her:
“The hardest part for me was one not being from a tech background. I think that I had a little bit of tech background, but sometimes not being able to code myself [was a challenge].”
To access the full conversation and more exclusive Her Agenda content, become a HER AGENDA INSIDER. You can find Layo and the work she’s doing online at Wolomi.com or via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
