New maternal care platform helps mums after birth when ‘anything can happen’

SINGAPORE – After spending a decade building a regional creative agency, Siew Suet Yen, 35, quit her job in mid-2025 to enjoy a break from work.

The former managing director planned to take a 12-month sabbatical to reset and spend more time with her two children, aged two and five then.

Just three months in, she was so fired up with ideas that she co-founded Bosom, a maternal care platform. It officially launched on July 30.

After chatting with other mothers during play dates in 2025, Siew realised how lucky she was to have had a strong support system after giving birth to her kids.

Her close circle of friends, which included a psychologist, a nurse and a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, rallied around her with evidence-based advice whenever she faced any challenges.

She and her husband, a 38-year-old businessman in signage and home repairs, are their kids' main caregivers. They have a part-time cleaner and ad-hoc support from relatives.

But other mothers she spoke to were not as fortunate.

Many relied on informal support systems, such as confinement nannies and well-intentioned parents and in-laws. These mums struggled with breastfeeding and their mental health – some were even told that it was normal to cry every day after giving birth.

“Why is it that Singapore is so medically advanced but right after birth, we’re discharged into an unstructured system? Anything can happen in the six weeks from your hospital discharge to the next clinic check-up,” she says.

“That’s the gap that we’re trying to close. The objective is to improve accessibility for mums to access good maternal care in a more structured and proactive way.”

Siew feels that the maternal care market is fragmented and regulation remains an issue.

When women get pregnant, there is a clear and structured pathway with medically regulated doctor visits and milestone checks along the way.

“Breastfeeding support doesn’t have that same structure. There’s lots of information online, sometimes conflicting. Support options are largely hospitals, which sometimes have long waits, or private practices, which can be expensive,” she says.

“And because the title itself isn’t regulated, there’s a wide range in who can call themselves a lactation consultant – the training and experience behind that title can vary enormously, and it’s hard for a new mother to tell the difference.”

For instance, many mothers do not know the difference between a breastfeeding counsellor and a breastfeeding consultant, she says.

A breastfeeding counsellor like a certified lactation counsellor – known by the acronym CLC – provides basic breastfeeding education.

An international board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) has a qualification that is the gold standard in lactation care, has more extensive training and manages more complex clinical issues like tongue tie, low milk supply, or medical conditions affecting feeding.

“While IBCLCs are recognised as allied health professionals in some countries, they’re not yet included in Singapore’s own allied health framework, which speaks to how early we still are in building out formal recognition and structure for this kind of care,” she adds.

Even though Singapore’s total fertility rate is at an all-time low, she sees the Government’s big push towards parenthood as a positive development for service providers like her.

A regional and eventually global presence is part of her long-term checklist, as are tie-ups with corporations to offer Bosom as part of their maternity benefits programme.

Her website bosom.sg hosts experts trained in lactation and mental health support from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

A 30-minute instant online consultation with a CLC costs $77, while one with an IBCLC costs $96. Scheduled sessions start at $128 and home visits start at $168.

Fees for mental health support from a counsellor start at $81 for a 30-minute online consultation, and a psychologist from $108. There are surcharges for weekend consultations and transport fees for in-person visits.

Siew has plans to expand her offerings to maternal care services in nutrition, physiotherapy, sleep and birthing.

She wants to offer all these as a 24/7 service. It is an important differentiator as her market research shows that mothers with new babies felt loneliest late at night when emergencies usually strike.

“It’s for those 3am moments when mums really need someone to support them,” she says.

Siew handles the front end of operations while her younger sister and co-founder, Megan, 32, manages the back end. On their payroll is a team of six, mostly part-timers.

She declines to share funding figures except to say that it is pre-seed, with a small group of angel investors.

Siew took a “significant pay cut” to start Bosom, but considers it worthwhile. “It’s something I want to invest in. I’ve spent my career building businesses that weren’t mine – now is the time to build one I’m truly passionate about.”