Rhode Island Company Creates Clothing to Protect Against Zika Virus
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found evidence that more than 1,000 pregnant women in the United States may have been ...

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131 investors
Maternova successfully raised $104,976 from 131 investors on December 20, 2016
Maternova’s deadline was December 20, 2016
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Follow MaternovaMaternova's first manufacturing run of the NovaVeil line is now underway. Designed by Brazilian-born Alessandra Gold, the NovaVeil line was funded through equity crowdfunding on Republic.
As mosquito and tick season unfold, women will be empowered with beautiful clothes that repel vector borne illness. Invisible, but powerful nanotechnology infused textiles allow women to move through their day with ease and free from insect bites.
The NovaVeil line will be sold in Europe and Brazil to start with the U.S. following close behind.
Please spread the word.
We are very pleased to announce that the four designs created by Alessandra Gold (award-winning Brazilian-born designer and Maternova partner) will be manufactured starting next month.
Our idea to create the Novaveil line as a novel, beautiful nanotechnology-infused armor against the mosquito has attracted the interest of researchers and funders interested in winning the fight against malaria, dengue and Zika!
Please help spread the word!
The initial prototypes of Novaveil anti-mosquito maternity wear were distributed in El Salvador with our partner, Americares. Over the last five months, pregnant women worked with health care workers to provide detailed feedback on the look and feel of the garments. The consensus? The idea of protective apparel as a novel layer of protection against Zika during pregnancy is extremely well-received in the community!
We will keep you posted.
Highlights:
Stylish apparel line that protects from Zika and other viruses
Made of innovative fabric with nanotechnology
Globally known brand for expertise in maternal and newborn health
As seen in:
Among significantly affected countries are USA, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and over 100 more. The effects of these viruses can be quite severe for pregnant women and their babies, with microcephaly as one consequence of Zika.
Current preventive solutions like mosquito repellents have proven to be ineffective. Research by our partner clinic in El Salvador (run by Americares) has documented that women avoid wearing skin based repellents because they smell bad and are expensive.
Our study found that only 89% of women are not comfortable applying repellent directly to their skin. Vaccines, bed nets, community spraying and mosquito traps are not enough.
Women need an inexpensive way to protect themselves from Zika as they move about during the day. This is especially critical for countries without a sophisticated medical system.
A labor of love between Maternova, Inc. and a renowned Brazilian designer Alessandra Gold, NovaVeil is the first line of stylish protective apparel that allows women to feel empowered and confident, knowing that they are protecting themselves beautifully.
NovaVeil is using a patented nanotechnology-enhanced textile that repels the mosquitoes that carry viruses, This textile allows us to manufacture stylish but affordable garments that women can wear during the day to protect themselves against the Zika virus.
We use the world's best scientific minds alongside the ideal creative partner to develop original and innovative solutions.
Each detail is crafted specifically for impacted climates and consider the habits of the mosquitoes – they bite in the day and they especially like dark colors – so the designs feature a lighter calming palette.
First ever dress designed to appeal across cultures, expand to fit a growing belly and imbued with nanotech repellent
Thoughtfully constructed for women of all sizes and heights
Interior dress comes with simple cinching ties
Ruched hem adjusters for full or mid length options
lightweight elongated cardigan
includes a hood to protect the head and hair
sleeves that extend over most of the hand for maximum coverage and protection.
Lightweight breathable scarf
able to cover the head or the lap
can cover an infant bassinet or an infant nursing with mother
Light colored leggings
Chemicals used by pregnant women must be safe for the mother and for the fetus. NovaVeil is protecting women using a special fabric that does not result in the absorption of repellent chemicals into the skin.
The Environmental Protection Agency reviews clinical and environmental data to ensure consumer protection. By using a chemical already approved by the EPA we 1) ensure that it is safe and 2) save years of approval and testing.
By ensuring a long life for a maternity garment and other pieces, we bring down the average cost per day of protection significantly.
According to studies, skin-based repellents are avoided because of odor. By providing an odorless solution in the form of apparel, we increase the chances that women will use it and be protected.
Skin-based repellents are a hassle and are quite costly. NovaVeil makes protection from mosquitos effortless – wearing clothing is easier than applying repellent every few hours.
Mosquitos in some countries, including Puerto Rico, have evolved to be able to resist permethrin – this widely recommended insecticide is simply not effective in many areas.
Nanotechnology processes allow the insect repellent to be bound to textile fibers at the molecular level. It is this process which gives the textile its long life through many washings.
A patented technology enables us to offer something that is exclusively our own. It can not be copied and allows us, with our partners, to maintain quality control.
Maternova considers style as a part of dignity. Women should be able to protect themselves and their babies while still looking stunning.
We’ve partnered with Alessandra Gold - the fashion designer behind the NovaVeil line.
Born in Brazil and headquartered in Miami, Alessandra knows how to design for women and is 100% committed to creative approaches to protecting women.
trained at Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
named as this year's top 10 Miami designer
named one of 8 Latin American designers to watch by Glamour magazine
designs featured in Sports Illustrated, Nylon, and Vogue
We will sell the NovaVeil line at retail prices so that higher-income women have access to stylish apparel that protects against Zika. Doctors and midwives will sell products through their clinics, governments will buy product in bulk, and individuals will buy retail so that the average woman in Europe, the U.S. and Brazil can be protected.
Part of the proceeds from the retail line will be used to subsidize a line of protective apparel for low-income women in the countries hardest hit by viruses. Humanitarian organizations will be able to purchase in bulk for distribution for displaced populations at risk of mosquito borne illness.
Maternova, Inc is a globally recognized women’s health solutions company. We’re the purveyors of hope and innovation: our mission is to improve the quality of life for women and newborns everywhere by accelerating access to life-saving technologies. We create health-enhancing solutions that young women will want to integrate into everyday life.
We already distribute medical technologies around the world. We work with governments, hospitals, humanitarian organizations and clinicians. In other words, we have the customers and the distribution system in place.
Maternova negotiates exclusive distribution agreements with innovators and entrepreneurs as well as corporates. We use a series of product screens to select life-saving innovations, and the innovators work with us because of our reach and reputation.
Through our self-built mailing list and social media, we reach over 15,000 frontline providers and procurement agencies who equip them. This network allows us to 'take the pulse' of the needs of clinicians, and to test and validate innovations rapidly.
Survival Duos: one of Maternova’s products on the market:
See more products at maternova.net.


Hear the recent piece on BBC.
Maternova’s protective apparel concept is supported by some of the leading experts on global health and Zika. Maternova is part of an elite cohort of innovators cultivated by CAMtech and Massachusetts General Hospital. This cohort is advised by Dr. Michael Callahan, a top authority on Zika and head of the Zika Foundation. We are also supported with a seed grant from Grand Challenges Canada.
Develop final prototypes for the protective apparel
Research demand for a full anti-Zika kit (apparel, repellent, bednets, etc)
Work with pattern maker to create patterns
Place order with the manufacturer
Launch marketing campaign
Deliver first run of the finished garments
Within two months of developing the NovaVeil idea we have done the following:
sourced the patented textile
partnered with a talented fashion designer from Brazil
produced the first run of maternity t-shirts for testing
designed four initial maternity pieces for the NovaVeil line
set up a partnership with a clinic in El Salvador (Americares)
designed a user testing tool
received requests from around the world,
We want investors who are mothers, fathers, grandparents and daughters.
We need passionate people who understand that to protect women, to reduce the number of women dying in childbirth and to improve the health of adolescent girls, we need innovative, pioneering business models.
We believe it’s a great time to be a woman. We are so excited to connect with your at the moment when innovation is desperately needed.

A shoutout by tweet thanking you personally on the Maternova twitter handle
A shoutout and a permanent spot on the Maternova website!
A NovaVeil garment for someone you love, a shoutout by tweet to our 4800 followers and a permanent spot on the Maternova website.
Everything above plus a signed poster of the technical drawings used to create the first designs of Maternova protective anti-Zika apparel.
Everything above plus a crate of Zika-protective apparel for the young women served at our partner clinic in El Salvador (run by Americares).
Everything above plus you get to be "virtual designer", involved in the design process for one of our next garments! Fabric, color, style... you'll have input on all!
Everything above plus a tour of the up and coming City of Providence by gondola, with the founders of Maternova.
Form C
Maternova is the first e-commerce platform focused on accelerating innovative products in the $20B maternal/newborn health industry, revolutionizing the way life-saving global health products are discovered, accessed and distributed. We offer branded and private label disruptive technologies to organizations equipping global health workers through a unique distribution network of governments, distributors and NGOs
Our customers include governments, the United Nations, national ministries of health, leading humanitarian organizations, private hospitals, research institutions and schools for health professionals. We work through all avenues to reach the most vulnerable women globally.
According to the World Health Organization, 800 women die every day during childbirth, with 99 percent of those deaths taking place in the developing world. There are medical tools, often times inexpensive ones, that make a drastic difference in these outcomes.However, these tools can be difficult to obtain and ship, and this is exactly where we have made—and continue to make—inspirational strides.
To date, we have distributed products in more than 40 countries, and we have helped save the lives of over 200,000 women and children.
Maternova was originally an educational resource for global public health workers. We created our highly acclaimed “Innovation Index” and began cataloging innovations in various stages of development from all over the world. It was our hope and ultimate goal to speed the dissemination of information across all the barriers that exist. That initial plan proved wildly successful, and inquiries started flooding in from countries all over the world asking how the devices could be obtained.
We quickly realized, though, that simply distributing the products wasn’t enough. We had to accomplish two important goals. The rigorous field testing of products to ensure they performed as described and met our criteria was essential. Maternova is extremely lucky to have not only two wonderful boards in place but we also have some fantastic in-country distributors in places like Nigeria, DRC, Cameroon, and many more who are so gracious in their commitment to our mission they test each product we sell at length. Our testing in-office of innovations has often provided some hilarious moments of comic relief as well. It’s true that some things just never go as planned, and we’re OK with that!
Lastly, we wanted to develop a more comprehensive suite of products for people. It’s not enough to only offer one or two items. Our customers often order four-plus products with each visit to our marketplace. It’s our hope to provide the most effective solutions for the birth experience that don’t always mean just the moment of birth.
We began by researching journals and R&D labs. Now we are lucky enough that many entrepreneurs and teams come to us to see if we can help commercialize their ideas.
We have a screening tool to determine whether technologies are a good fit for our key markets--we start with the leading causes of mortality and morbidity for women (and newborns)
We see a lot of gaps in current solutions. For that reason we do have one provisional patent and we are working on others.
2016
-Winner of Saving Lives at Birth award for national scale-up of the Pratt Pouch in Uganda
2015
-Winner of InnovateHER business competition run by LCG&D for the U.S
2014
-Named one of 6 women "Disrupting the Startup World with Social Change" by Craigconnects
2013
-Semi-finalist for the Caplow Children's Prize for innovative ideas for saving the lives of children.
2012
-Named one of the 50 best ideas for women through the group Women Deliver
-Winner of LivePlan Business Plan Competition hosted by Palo Alto software
-Judged a 'hot 100 startup' by THEWSIE
-Finalist in PITCH NYC 2012 Startup Competition
2011
-Semi-finalist for the Buckminster Fuller Prize and the William James Foundation Social Enterprise Competition.
-Finalist in the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition and the MassChallenge competition
-LOHAS Prize winner(Life of Health and Sustainability).
-Finalist in the Cartier Women's Initiative and Katerva Prize on Global Sustainability
-Recognized by the Providence Business News in the Innovations Awards
2010
-'Early winner' in "Health Mothers, Strong World" by Changemakers/Ashoka
-Semi-finalist in Secretary of State's Competition for Empowerment of Women and Girls
The global health marketplace is fragmented and opaque. Customers (those who procure health technologies) do not have a trusted source where they can both find out about technologies appropriate to their settings and purchase products with confidence. The result is that key channels are simply unaware of the existence of game-changing technologies and/or unable to figure out how to purchase them. Maternova fills this glaring gap.
Maternova Inc. has first mover advantage with its first to market platform play in the global health space. With hundreds of customers in over 40 countries we have strong partnerships and exclusive distribution agreements with both suppliers and sub-distributors. Our branded bundles, kits and soon--proprietary biotech offerings place us as a pioneer in this space.
Public health authorities have a number of tools in their arsenal against Zika: sprays, repellents, bednets, condoms and traps. But there is no viable protective apparel that women can wear as they go about their day. We are going to change that.
Maternova successfully raised $104,976 from 131 investors on December 20, 2016
I believe in the company's mission
elizabeth aguiarInvested 5 months ago
I like the mission, thoughtful approach, and trust the team. The incorporation of user-driven design into a public health application is awesome!
Kristian OlsonInvested 6 months ago
I invested because Maternova's creative solution to Zika virus problem is very appealing.
VIJAYA POTTIInvested 6 months ago
Great concepts with backings of an established company, hope it takes off and the international community is all the better for it.
Louie GuanInvested 6 months ago
I wanted to help pregnant women and their unborn children.
Nikki WilliamsInvested 6 months ago
I feel it will be something that will help the world, and for women to feel safer
Yehuda Oren CohenInvested 6 months ago
I saw Meg Wirth present yesterday at the MDG conference in Weston, MA, learned all about Maternova and love the model and concepts.
Sophie ChapelleInvested 6 months ago
Maternova is committed to making a great product that serves multiple purposes.
Darius PowellInvested 6 months ago
I want to support innovation and entrepreneurs that are seeking to make the world a better place.
Julia KlineInvested 6 months ago
Utmost respect for Meg and for what she has done and is doing with Maternova to make the world a better place!
Daniel WarshayInvested 8 months ago
Maternova's a dream investment: unlike startups with no monetization plan, they already have customers, a good catalog, & income stream (all part of the valuation). Now they have a new groundbreaking and important product. This one should be funded.
J Ian IrbyInvested 8 months ago
Sounds like a promising business with a good cause
Michelle FangInvested 8 months ago
It seems that you'll do well by doing good.
Phil DunnInvested 8 months ago
I invested because I believe that clothing is an antiquated technology that needs more innovation and investment beyond fashion.
Cameron WoodwardInvested 8 months ago
Maternova is using a unique business model to meet critical health care needs around the world and changing lives.
Deb Mills-ScofieldInvested 8 months ago
The need is urgent, and innovation is necessary.
Camille LandauInvested 8 months ago
Timely, important, practical.
Mickey FreemanInvested 9 months ago
I want to protect as many women from Zika as possible.
Jonathan WilliamsInvested 9 months ago
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