Maternal Health QuickFire Challenge

Deadline: 2020-06-19
Award: $200,000
Open to: Everyone*

From the day a mother hears her little one’s heartbeat, to the time she feels her baby’s first kick, through the moment her child takes their first breath, a mother is a lifeline for her baby. However, far too often in the United States bringing new life into the world can mean a mother risking her own.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) May 2019 Vital Signs Report, every year in the United States, approximately 50,000 mothers are severely injured and nearly 700 women die from pregnancy-related complications. Of these deaths, the CDC estimates that three in five are preventable and half the injuries could be avoided with proper care. While death and complication rates around the globe decrease, the United States faces increasing rates, making it the most dangerous place in the developed world to give birth.

That’s why the Johnson & Johnson Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO) Women’s Health team, together with Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JLABS, is proud to introduce the Maternal Health QuickFire Challenge. We invite visionaries to submit ideas aiming to improve pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care for women, making birth safer in the United States and potentially changing the trajectory of health for a lifetime.

The innovator(s) with the best idea, potential technology, or potential solution will receive up to $200,000 in grant funding, access to the global JLABS network and mentorship from experts at the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.