Heba’s Maven Story: Finding inspiration and guidance

Heba, a customer success manager and mother of three living in London, found the support system she needed to navigate the big kid years with Maven. She turned to Maven’s parenting coaches for holistic support with everything from managing toddler tantrums to mindful parenting techniques for her children, ages three, five, and nine. Heba also leaned on Maven for guidance from a nutritionist and career coach to help her focus on her own self-care.  

Access to parenting resources

When Heba’s husband first introduced her to the Maven app, she had doubts about how much it could help her. She wasn’t planning on becoming pregnant again and her children’s infant years were behind them—what more help could she need? But when she logged on for the first time, she was instantly captivated by the resources available through Maven’s parenting and pediatrics curriculum. She could speak with specialists, read clinically-vetted articles, or even take provider-led virtual classes, all from the comfort of her own home. "Every evening I was just sitting on Maven. I wasn't on my Instagram, I wasn't on my LinkedIn, I was on Maven,” Heba says. “I saw that you could just tap and speak to someone right there linked to the article, which was mind-blowing to me, that I could just speak to someone in a few hours.” 

To start, Heba spoke with her Care Advocate to discuss strategies for parenting her children. Her Care Advocate sent her a list of parenting coaches and worked with her to find times that suited her busy schedule. She also began meeting with a nutritionist and a career coach to better prioritize herself. Through Maven, Heba had on-demand access to unlimited appointments with a variety of specialists and providers outside of her primary care. “I love Maven. I think every company should offer it to all their staff.”  

Learning how to mindfully parent, even in tough moments

Raising three kids, Heba knew all too well how the approach to parenting changes with the needs of each child. She had always tried to practice mindful parenting but was looking for advice on how to better handle temper tantrums and power struggles. 

Maven parenting coaches are providers who assist families in developing methods to address challenges and reach parenting goals, with many offering expertise in subspecialties for children with disabilities, children with developmental disorders, and neurodivergent children. Heba’s parenting coach taught her several tips to help her manage pressure and pushback from her children. One useful idea Heba implemented is to always give her children “two fun options” when giving them instructions. For example, when her younger children wouldn’t get out of bed to go to nursery school, Heba told them they could “hop out of the bed like bunnies or slither like snakes.” Both of them immediately got down on the floor and “slithered” out of the bedroom. 

By following the advice of her parenting coach, Heba saw progress right away. “She just gave me four tips and she'd play through the scenario. And she was like, try this, this and this, and it just works.” More than anything, Heba was grateful that the new strategies she’s learned have improved how her family communicates and helped them feel happier together. She’s met with her parenting coach multiple times to continue to learn how to successfully implement this guidance on a day-to-day basis. 

“Maven is like having your mum available with all that information and experience. Having conversations and being able to ask those silly questions that you might not speak to a nurse or a GP about. You might not have someone like that.”

Self-care for parents isn’t optional—it’s essential  

With three in four parents reporting that they could use more emotional support, and almost 75 percent of parents reporting that they wish they spent more time on self-care, Heba is far from alone in her need for self-care strategies. Self-care has been a consistent theme throughout Heba’s virtual appointments, as Maven’s providers have given her the support system she needed to prioritize herself. She felt inspired to meet with a nutritionist, who has empowered Heba to reframe how she thinks about her relationship with food. “My nutritionist and I are not talking about weight. We are talking about me loving myself, which is a really different concept,” Heba explains. “I’ve had three children, and she’s like, ‘You’ve made people!’ She really enlightened me into accepting my body.” 

Heba’s care team helped her set realistic goals and expectations of herself as a parent, acknowledging her challenges while celebrating her joy. Because of Maven’s whole-person approach to care that factors in the social, emotional, and physical needs of every member, Heba says her virtual meetings feel more like informed “therapy sessions” than her typical in-person appointments. “It's like having your mum available with all that information and experience,” says Heba. “Having conversations and being able to ask those silly questions that you might not speak to a nurse or a GP about, and you might not have someone like that.” 

Heba’s next step in prioritizing her needs is booking a session with a career coach. She is looking forward to climbing in her career and speaking with a Maven career coach who understands the pressures of balancing her family and her career aspirations. “I’m not spending so much time trying to figure out this parenting thing. I’ve got it. I’m ready for the next stage.”

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