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What’s your women’s health ‘thing?’
Fertility education; proactive screening and preconception care.
How has your women’s health ‘thing’ affected you throughout your life?
'I wish I'd known ...' is probably the most common phrase among women who've experienced fertility issues. I wish I'd known and understood how common pregnancy loss was, and I wish I'd known more about preconception support (for eggs and sperm!). I would have felt a lot less alone. I would have also saved an enormous amount of time being proactive with my reproductive health vs reactive.
What advice would you give to someone dealing with your same women’s health ‘thing?’
Lifestyle factors make a massive impact on outcomes. While there is no way to delay ageing, prevent the quality and quantity of our eggs from declining, there are important lifestyle practices that can protect the eggs you've got and support their health. Don't sleep on sleep!! Whole foods, high protein, less refined sugar and processed food. Antioxidants + prenatal vitamins!! Move your body, every damn day.
Tell us how your women’s health ‘thing’ shaped your business, the business you’ve helped start, or your career trajectory.
We started out by tackling the first problem - verified, trusted preconception education was not centralized. Creating a science and research-focused hub where our doctors can share the data with the public helps, in part, to tackle the 'What I wish I'd known sooner' question, and expedite care when needed. We then added in the at-home testing - screen for certain reproductive health red flags at home, so you'll get a nudge to see a specialist for a diagnostic workup sooner if required, and avoid waiting the recommended 6-12 months. And then came the supplements - what if we could provide our community with exactly the combination of nutrients and antioxidants that our doctors wished their patients had been taking preconception, during pregnancy and postpartum - based on in-depth research and clinical studies. And what if we could deliver it to customers in a way that helps reduce their own time spent managing the equivalent of an at-home pharmacy? And so we set off to help all those women with easy support for when getting pregnant is hard, and providing the company we at Bird&Be all wished that we had during our own journeys.
How has your women’s health ‘thing’ shaped your life?
I've never worked harder, but I've never been happier. Running a rapidly growing business in two countries is not easy. But I am hooked into our Customer Care channel and I can personally see the pregnancy announcements and the thank you's to our team coming through all day. The feeling is honestly unimaginable - we were a part of the journey to making someone's dream come true, I can't think of anything more fulfilling and joyful.