What is a care advocate? How Maven's Care Advocates guide members through fertility, pregnancy, and parenting

A Care Advocate is a dedicated, clinically trained care provider who serves as a member's personal guide across their family-building journey. They build a care team, answer questions, coordinate referrals to virtual and in-person providers, explain benefits and coverage, and check in proactively based on each member's health risks and goals.

What you need to know

Every Maven member is matched with a Care Advocate when they join, based on a brief intake questionnaire.
Care Advocates are trained in every aspect of a member's benefits and health plan — including local nuances and regulations — so they can explain what's covered and coordinate financial support like Maven Wallet and MavenRx.
Maven's network spans thousands of providers across 30+ family-health specialties, speaking 35+ languages, so Care Advocates can match members with providers by demographic, clinical need, and availability.
Benefits navigation matters: about half of U.S. employees don't fully understand their benefits, and 65% don't fully comprehend the value of their healthcare benefits.
Care Advocates support outcomes: 75% of high-risk members say Maven helped them learn medically accurate information about pregnancy and complications, and 55% of members report a better understanding of early warning signs.

Key terms

Care Advocate: A Maven care provider who coordinates a member's care team, answers questions, makes referrals, and conducts proactive check-ins throughout the journey.
Care plan: A personalized plan the Care Advocate builds after intake, including tailored providers, content, and goals.
Digital front door: The single, guided entry point that connects members to virtual and in-person care and benefits.
Maven Wallet: A tool for managing and reimbursing eligible family-building and fertility expenses.
MavenRx: Maven's pharmacy solution supporting fertility and maternity medications.
Care matching: Pairing members with providers based on clinical need, language, demographics, time zone, and availability.
Maternal health literacy: A person's ability to understand and act on maternal health information — linked to better outcomes.

What is a Care Advocate?

A Maven Care Advocate is a care provider who builds a care team for members, answers their questions, makes referrals to virtual and in-person providers, and conducts proactive check-ins and interventions as needed.

They pair healthcare expertise with genuine compassion, and they're trained in every aspect of a member's health plan, along with local regulations and nuances. Many are licensed clinicians, including registered nurses.

How the process works:

When a new member joins Maven, they complete a brief intake questionnaire and get matched with a Care Advocate.
The Care Advocate meets with the member to talk through goals, medical history, expectations, and needs.
From that conversation, the Care Advocate builds a personalized care plan — with tailored providers, content, and goals.
The Care Advocate manages the member's care for as long as they're on the platform.

Why are Care Advocates important for parents and families?

Care Advocates close the gaps between rising costs, limited access to specialty care, and low benefits understanding—the gaps that leave many parents overspending on benefits they never fully use.

Here are the key gaps Care Advocates help address:

Benefits confusion: Only about half of U.S. employees understand their benefits (Forbes, 2019), and 65% don't fully comprehend the value of their healthcare benefits (HR Daily Advisor, 2019).
Access shortages: Nearly half of U.S. counties lack an OB-GYN (Pew, 2016).
Low health literacy: A 2018 study found 72% of low-income mothers had low maternal health literacy (NCBI, 2018).
Rising costs: Healthcare costs have climbed substantially over the past 20 years, with premiums and service prices expected to rise further.

Telehealth delivers convenient, instant access to care — but an app is no substitute for the human touch. Members still need a compassionate person who will listen, point them to the right providers, and help them stay engaged during critical windows like early pregnancy.

What does a Care Advocate do?

Care Advocates provide four core types of support: building trust and advocacy, coordinating personalized care, educating members on benefits and procedures, and conducting proactive check-ins based on health risk.

1. Building trust as a source of truth and support

Care Advocates take the time to get to know members' lives, families, and needs — filling one of the most critical gaps in maternal care: the limited time expecting parents get with their providers.

They act as allies members can talk to about their health, their concerns, and their fears.
They celebrate milestones, support members through pregnancy after loss, and walk with members through grief.
They create a respectful, judgment-free space built on active listening and encouragement.

"Helping members feel heard and understood is the first step of providing care and trust. When members feel heard and understood, they are likely to feel empowered to seek help, to voice their needs, to stay engaged and to continue that positive cycle." — Pei-fang Fang, Maven Care Advocate

"It's our goal that members never feel alone in their family planning journeys as long as they are Maven members." — Brittany Alvarez, RN, Maven Care Advocate

2. Providing personalized care and matching the right providers

After the first meeting, Care Advocates check in throughout the member's journey — whether they're undergoing fertility treatments, pursuing surrogacy, navigating pregnancy, or raising children.

Maven's network includes thousands of providers across 30+ family-health specialties, speaking 35+ languages, and reflecting members' ethnic and social backgrounds.

Care Advocates use diversity-informed care matching, weighing time zones, preferred demographics, experience, and clinical need.

If a preferred provider has no immediate availability, Care Advocates can message that provider and recommend similar providers with open appointments — sometimes within hours.

Provider fit drives engagement. As Fang notes, when members understand why a provider was recommended, they are more likely to book an appointment with the provider and have a higher completion rate.

3. Educating members about benefits, procedures, and timelines

Because Care Advocates are trained in every aspect of a member's benefits and health plan, they can explain what's covered, coordinate financial support, and book appointments on the member's behalf.

For fertility members—for example, those pursuing IVF — Care Advocates talk through concerns about cycles and medications and connect them to Maven specialty providers, in-person providers, partnered clinics, and labs.

They dig into coverage gaps. Some insurance plans don't cover elective egg freezing, so Care Advocates check insurance coverage, identify employer financial assistance (including Maven Wallet and MavenRx), and package it into a clear, easy-to-understand message.

This education strengthens maternal health literacy and helps members set realistic goals and expectations.

"I think it's vital to give members the full picture of what this journey will look like for them, if we can." — Brittany Alvarez, RN

4. Conducting proactive, risk-aware check-ins

Care Advocates know each member's risk category and tailor their outreach to match.

For members with high-risk pregnancies — say, those managing gestational diabetes — Care Advocates check in on physical and mental health, treatment progress, and open questions.

They can adjust the care plan when something isn't working, offer encouragement, and re-match providers.

Experience Maven through the eyes of our members

Journey alongside four Maven members as they navigate fertility, pregnancy, parenthood, and menopause.

Follow their journeys

Experience Maven through the eyes of our members

Who and what can a Care Advocate connect members to?

Care Advocates guide members across the full spectrum of family care—from conception through parenting and menopause.

The providers and support they can coordinate include:

OB-GYNs and maternity specialists
Fertility specialists and reproductive endocrinologists
Doulas
Lactation consultants
Sleep coaches
Nutritionists
Mental health providers
In-person providers, partnered clinics, and labs

What outcomes do Care Advocates support?

Care Advocates contribute to Maven's industry-leading engagement and touchpoints per member.

75% of high-risk members say, "Maven helped me learn medically accurate information about pregnancy and/or complications."
55% of members report a better understanding of early warning signs.

Higher engagement and stronger education lead to more proactive decisions and healthier outcomes — especially during the critical window of early development.

How do employees access a Care Advocate?

Members reach their Care Advocate through Maven, which employers and health plans offer as a benefit.

Join Maven through your employer or health plan benefit.
Complete the brief intake questionnaire.
Get matched with a Care Advocate.
Meet to review goals, medical history, and needs.
Receive a personalized care plan with tailored providers and content.
Use ongoing check-ins to book appointments, ask questions, and navigate benefits.

Care Advocates act as a digital front door to high-quality virtual family care, in-person providers, and other benefits.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Maven Care Advocate? A Care Advocate is a clinically trained care provider who guides members through their family-building journey—building a care team, answering questions, making referrals, explaining benefits, and conducting proactive check-ins.

Is a Care Advocate a licensed clinician? Care Advocates pair healthcare expertise with compassion, and many are licensed clinicians, including registered nurses. They're trained in every aspect of a member's health plan and local regulations.

How is a member matched with a Care Advocate? Members are matched based on a brief intake questionnaire completed when they join Maven.

What can a Care Advocate help me with? Building a care plan, matching you with the right providers, booking appointments, explaining your benefits and coverage, connecting you to financial support (like Maven Wallet and MavenRx), and checking in throughout fertility, pregnancy, parenting, and menopause.

Can a Care Advocate help me understand what my insurance covers? Yes. Care Advocates are trained in your benefits and can investigate coverage — for example, whether a plan covers elective egg freezing — and identify additional employer financial assistance.

Do Care Advocates support high-risk pregnancies? Yes. Care Advocates know each member's risk category and conduct proactive check-ins for members with conditions such as gestational diabetes, monitoring physical and mental health and answering questions along the way.

Can a Care Advocate match me with a provider who shares my background or speaks my language? Yes. With thousands of providers across 30+ specialties speaking 35+ languages, Care Advocates match members by clinical need, demographics, language, time zone, and availability.

Does a Care Advocate support fertility, surrogacy, and egg freezing journeys? Yes. Care Advocates support members undergoing fertility treatments like IVF, pursuing surrogacy, and exploring fertility preservation — coordinating providers, clinics, labs, and financial support.

What happens if my preferred provider isn't available? Your Care Advocate can message that provider and recommend similar providers with open appointments — sometimes within hours.

Does the support end after pregnancy? No. Care Advocates support members across the full journey, including parenting from newborn through school-aged years and menopause.

Maven's human-centric approach to telehealth

Maven puts women and their families at the center of the experience. Care Advocates make sure members feel heard and validated, and they guide members across the full spectrum of care — from doulas and sleep coaches to lactation consultants and nutritionists.

Experience Maven through the eyes of our members: Follow four members as they navigate fertility, pregnancy, parenthood, and menopause.

To see how Maven's Care Advocates can help your employees engage with their benefits within and beyond Maven, contact us today.