Alumna: Maternity application took the midwife all over the world

When Sini Havukainen graduated in midwifery from Tampere University of Applied Sciences about ten years ago, she could not even dream about being a successful entrepreneur. Graduation to a midwife was a dream come true.

The studies took a bit longer than usual as Havukainen’s both children were born during the studies.

“The midwife’s profession and maternity were a perfect combination to me. I love to be a midwife. There could not be a more perfect moment than to be the midwife at a person’s most important moment,” Havukainen says.

Now she helps mothers around the world with her application.

 

Fan mail and good luck messages

Havukainen developed the famous Layette mobile application which includes useful and practical information on pregnancy, childhood and parenthood. The application is for expecting parents and parents of small children and it can be downloaded free of charge.

“In Finland every third pregnant woman downloads the application,” she tells.

Several different companies and organisations are also interested in cooperation with Havukainen and Layette.

At the moment Havukainen travels around the world telling about the maternity application and mapping cooperation possibilities. Her most recent trip abroad headed to China.

“My evenings now go to answering fan mail on LinkedIn. I receive plenty of encouragement and good luck messages. I enjoy this hustle and bustle enormously as this is what I want to do. The entrepreneur’s life is daily grind and moments like these crown it all.”

All started from articles

Layette’s story began when Havulainen started to write articles on childbirth and nutrition and exercise during pregnancy. The first articles handled foetal development, ie changes taking place in the foetus and mother during pregnancy weeks 5-42.

“I also wrote about child development at different ages as well as breast feeding and care for the baby, such as bathing. My articles on parenthood handled the couple relationship, fatherhood and bringing-up.”

These articles now form the data bank of the application. When Layette was published there were already hundreds of articles. The midwifery education has been invaluable in planning the Layette contents.

More business thinking

There are ten people working in the Layette team. They are professionals of different fields, from application developers and translators to marketing professionals.

“Different people have different brains and many skills are needed in teams. I believe that companies should gather teams which have expertise from many different fields,” Havukainen says.

New young entrepreneurs are close to Havukainen’s heart.

“I have received plenty of encouragement during my career and I hope I can share my experiences with others. Especially internationalisation, entrepreneurship and business knowledge is important.”

According to Havukainen, social and health care professionals are very warm-hearted and benevolent.

The idea of turning it into a business is new to many.

When Havukainen studied midwifery, there were no entrepreneurship studies available.

“I had no idea what was needed to establish a business. Life has taught me a lot.”

Cooperation benefits both

Sini Havukainen was chosen TAMK’s first alumna of the year in August 2019. The grounds for selecting her were her exceptional multidisciplinarity and activeness in entrepreneurship and cooperation networks.

When Aamulehti published on article on the alumna of the year in August, it started to snow interview requests. Havukainen is more than excited about all the hustle and bustle around her.

“At their best, alumni activities are reciprocal. The publicity has given me much positive attention and I respectively help if I can,” Havukainen says.

Havukainen tells she gladly takes Finnish midwifery abroad.

She already cooperated with TAMK closely before she was chosen the alumna of the year. Havukainen participated for example in the joint ViVa project of TAMK and Pirkanmaa Hospital District. The project promotes young people’s and families’ good health choices.

Thanks to the Layette application, the Finnish maternity clinic knowledge hopefully helps many future mothers around the world. Havukainen’s motivation is genuine desire to help mothers and families.

The best commendation Havukainen has received came when she still worked as a midwife. A mother thanked her for creating a calm atmosphere during the childbirth.

“I am still very happy about it as it is important for midwives to create a positive, calm and encouraging atmosphere in the delivery room.”

 

Sini Havukainen

• Graduated in midwifery from TAMK in 2008, started her studies at Pirkanmaa University of Applied Sciences in 2002
• Married, two children were born during her studies in 2003 and 2006
• Worked as a midwife at Tampere University Hospital in 2005-2006 and Kanta-Häme Central Hospital in 2002-2012
• Established Layette in 2015. The company employs 10 persons at the moment
• Havukainen’s Layette maternity application is a success story which takes the Finnish maternity clinic system abroad
• Was chosen to TAMK’s midwifery advisory board this year
• The Junior Chamber International Tampere granted her with a young achiever’s award in 2019
• First prize in NTT DATA Open Innovation in the Nordic and Baltic Countries in spring 2019.

TAMK’s first alumna of the year was chosen in autumn 2019. Tampere University of Applied Sciences and Tampere University started joint alumni activities at the beginning of 2019 under the name Tampere Alumni. All students and staff of TAMK, Tampere University and their predecessors are Tampere alumni. The alumni activities aim at promoting diverse interaction between the higher education institutions and alumni.