Motherhood can look like a number of different things, and Erica Chidi is helping people of every background build a deeper connection with their sexual and reproductive well-being. Through her own unique path, Erica discovered her calling in women’s health, eventually founding LOOM, a digital platform whose aim is to challenge patriarchal stigma around women’s health.

In honor of Mother’s Day, we sat down with Erica to discuss her journey, LOOM, and the education and empowerment connection can provide.

Penny Short Sleeve Blouse in Incense

Jolene High Rise Straight in Ponytail

We love what you are doing with LOOM, “weaving together inclusivity, empathy, and science.” Can you tell us a little bit more about the platform?

LOOM is a digital platform for sexual and reproductive wellbeing. Our aim is to challenge patriarchal stigma around women’s health. We’re doing that with interactive tools and on-demand education that help women thrive in their bodies at every stage of life.

We recently launched the first-ever empathetic, trauma-informed symptom checker for women’s health. Think WebMD but with feelings. It lets you learn about different symptoms—everything from anxiety to cramps, sweating to vaginal dryness. And you can explore how chronic stress and trauma can impact what’s going on with your body.

We’ve also got our pregnancy and postpartum program, an online course that you can start at any time, whether you’re pregnant or just gave birth. There are on-demand video and audio classes, as well as access to our weekly virtual support group, where you get expert advice and connect with other parents. We help you learn about your baby and body while building community.

I really believe that this kind of education is empowerment.

Penny Short Sleeve Blouse in Incense

Jolene High Rise Straight in Ponytail

This Mother’s Day we partnered with our friends at Every Mother Counts, an organization dedicated to improving access to maternity care around the world. Due to inequity within the healthcare system, many people around the world experience roadblocks when seeking the support they need. Can you share any tools for education and advocacy regarding maternal care?

Actually, Every Mother Counts recently launched Choices in Childbirth, which is a free childbirth education resource, and I was thrilled to be on the steering committee for it. We’re also working on a tool at LOOM. One of my deepest passions is fighting against the Black maternal mortality rate. The statistics are devastating: Black women are over three times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth than white women. I’m working with Dr. Erica Cahill, an Ob/Gyn at Stanford University, to introduce a tool to support Black birthing people. We’re calling it the Centering Anti-Racist Education (CARE) Pregnancy Tool. It guides both pregnant Black folks and care providers in talking about medical racism, which is a vital first step in guarding against it.

What role does getting dressed play in connecting with your body?   

I love the ease that comes with having a uniform of sorts; it’s usually monochromatic. These basic building blocks help me feel more comfortable in my own skin—like I’m wearing my clothes and they aren’t wearing me. I don’t spend a lot of time standing in front of the mirror trying on different outfits, which can feed such an antagonistic relationship to the body. I reach into my closet and put together an outfit in seconds. For me, it’s a way to protect my relationship to my body.

When do you feel best? Do you have any rituals or practices that contribute to feeling empowered?

My favorite way of connecting with my body is taking a bath. Sometimes I’ll do a good long soak for an hour or two. Baths are where time slows down and I shut out all the outside noise. I surrender to the warmth and the feeling of floating. It’s my happy place—sometimes I’ll take more than one bath in a day.

After a bath, I always like to check in with my body and see if anything feels off—say I have cramps or my shoulders are tight. I’ll track any symptoms with my iPhone, because you can learn so much from this kind of noticing. Our bodies talk to us in symptoms—whether it’s headache, anxiety, or anything else. That’s one of the reasons why we developed our symptom checker—to help women understand what their bodies are trying to tell them.

Once you stop to listen to your body, it can unlock all sorts of insights, which feels empowering.

What are you most excited about right now?  

I’m very excited about the next phase of LOOM. We’re building an app that will launch later this year. We’ll help you learn about your health and advocate for it.

This is so important when you look at how women are misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. We face medical gaslighting, where our symptoms are blamed on psychological factors. Even our pain is taken less seriously. It’s worse for Black women and LGBTQ+ patients. I hear all the time from women who are out there navigating these institutional problems and we’re building a tool that will help.