BARREN COUNTY, Ky. - Barren County High School seniors Olivia Crowe, D.J. Dillon, and Zach Shearer are combining healthcare and technology.
Thrive AB or Thrive After Birth is a web app intended to help new mothers suffering from postpartum depression. The idea stemmed from the final Dillon and Crowe’s final project in their Biomedical class. When the Project Manager of BC Skills, Justin Browning, asked them to add a technological component to their project they jumped at the opportunity. Working with Shearer, the lead programmer of the group, they are able to create a comprehensive resource for women suffering from postpartum depression.
The topic is something that the three teens found needs more attention in Barren County, and all over the world.
Her sister suffering from postpartum, Dillon says “You can tell it takes a toll on these women that they’re not the happiest they are or that you would want them to be like after having the experience of having a child.”
Wanting access for all, the three high school seniors decided to create a web app versus an app that can be downloaded to your phone.
“Being a normal app that downloads on your phone it limits who could have it so it allows it to be a greater majority of the women who would need it,” Crowe said.
The group was chosen as one of the top one hundred finalists for the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest and hope to have the opportunity to change lives on a national level.
“I really do like helping the community around and nationally its great, if I can do it nationally it makes it even better,” Shearer said.
“For us to just take a small step that could end up becoming a big thing to help these women out to at least give them the support and a new like outlet for them to go to where they thought that there was nothing out there for them is a big deal,” Dillon said.
The top one hundred finalists will be narrowed down to twenty in the beginning of March and if chosen, the three Barren County teens will have the opportunity to present their web app in New York.