In this episode of the Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 podcast host Dr. Keley John Booth, MD speaks with Dr. Pinky Patel, PharmD — founder of Myri, an AI-enabled women’s and maternal health platform — about the crisis in maternal care in Oklahoma and practical solutions that can be implemented now. They weave Dr. Patel’s lived experience during pregnancy and a narrowly averted C-section with system-level analysis of why outcomes are poor for many Oklahomans.

The conversation covers rising C‑section rates, the ‘‘weekend effect’’ and environmental triggers, gaps in provider practices, and the routinely underfunded recovery and postpartum period. Dr. Patel describes how routine care often stops at a single 6‑week postpartum visit (an average 11‑minute appointment), leaving mothers with untreated pelvic floor dysfunction, scar adhesions, chronic pain and mental health consequences.

Central to the interview is Myri: why it was built, how it moves care upstream, and the concrete services it offers — individualized birth planning and education, pelvic floor prevention and rehab pathways, gamified and VR-enabled exercise feedback, remote patient monitoring (blood pressure, glucose), multilingual AI chatbot support (Maya), nutrition and activity tracking, and aggregation of siloed labs and device data. Dr. Patel explains the emphasis on prevention and scalable digital-first support for rural populations who lack specialized in-person pelvic health resources.

The hosts dig into the user experience: onboarding via app store or QR codes through health departments or payers; integration with RPM devices and EMRs for escalations and provider alerts; care coordination, doula scheduling and documentation; and measurement of engagement, adherence and outcomes. They highlight demonstrated ROI signals (reduced complications, lower claims) and real-world results from state pilots — including improved postpartum outcomes in Kansas and international implementations.

The episode also explains how the Oklahoma Rural Health Transformation Program presents a rare funding opportunity to fund RPM, telehealth infrastructure, workforce upskilling, doula training and consumer tech pilots — and why Oklahoma needs local implementation partners who have proven user adoption and clinical impact. Dr. Patel and Dr. Booth discuss barriers like vendor pre‑selection, leadership turnover, and the urgency of choosing solutions that actually engage mothers and close the data loop.

Key takeaways: maternal health is a high‑impact upstream lever for population health; prevention (especially pelvic floor and rehabilitation) and continuous, data‑driven support must replace episodic care; technology like Myri can scale culturally tailored, evidence‑based interventions into rural settings; and committed local implementation is required to turn federal funding into lives saved. The episode closes with a call for Oklahoma clinicians, leaders and legislators to prioritize maternal health and to adopt scalable solutions that keep women and families at the center of care. Listeners can learn more about Myri at https://www.myrihealth.com/ Listeners are also invited to join the Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 RHTP Task Force at Rise25in25.org or email info@rise25in25.org for more information. The Oklahoma Rise 25 and 25 RHTP Forum is produced and directed by Dr. Keley John Booth, MD.