April 1, 2025 • 42 mins
Postpartum care in the U.S. is broken—period.
Women are left struggling with depletion, hormone imbalances, and autoimmune conditions with little to no real support. What if postpartum care wasn’t just about surviving but actually thriving?
Today I'm chatting with Jane Baecher, co-founder and CEO of Anya, a revolutionary postpartum wellness brand changing the game for new moms. Jane shares her journey, why she felt called to disrupt the space, and how Anya is helping moms heal at the root—through nutrition, holistic care, and real, evidence-based solutions. We’re talking why postpartum recovery is more than just the first six weeks, how the U.S. is failing mothers compared to other countries, and what it will take to truly shift the narrative around postpartum health.
Click HERE to check out this episode on the blog.
Key Time Stamps:
04:50 What is Anya and how is it transforming postpartum care?
07:28 Why postpartum recovery is more than just six weeks
10:00 The U.S. vs. global postpartum care: What we’re missing
13:49 How postpartum providers & brands can work together for better care
16:52 Why postpartum needs a whole-body approach—not just OB care
20:58 The challenges of bridging medical and holistic postpartum support
25:50 The dream of a postpartum specialist model
29:38 Why nutrition & functional medicine are the missing pieces in postpartum care
33:46 How we can push for better postpartum support in our communities
Connect with Jane: Jane Baecher, co-founder and CEO of Anya, is a Cornell University graduate who began her career in fashion. Inspired by her own postpartum journey, Jane founded Anya to fill a critical gap in postpartum care. Combining traditional recipes, nutritional science, and food-based healing, Jane began creating products to support mothers through their first year of recovery and beyond. Anya offers a products and educational resources developed with OB/GYNs, pediatricians, nutritionists, herbalists, and doulas, providing holistic support for new moms.
Get 20% off your first order with Anya! Use code POSTPARTUM20
NEXT STEPS:
🎒Download the free Postpartum Restoration Method™ Assessment Tool & Guide for Providers
🔔Sign up for the Postpartum Nutrition Certification Waitlist
👍Rate, REVIEW & share the podcast
📱Connect on Instagram!
📚Get a Copy of the BOOK: Reclaiming Postpartum Wellness
🧠Perinatal Mental Health Certificate Training & Additional Courses for Providers & Postpartum Professionals
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
The postpartum care system is failing, leaving
countless mothers strugglingwith depression, anxiety and
autoimmune conditions.
I'm Miranda Bauer and I'vehelped thousands of providers
use holistic care practices toheal their clients at the root.
Subscribe now and join us inaddressing what modern medicine
(00:22):
overlooks, so that you can giveyour clients real, lasting
solutions for lifelongwell-being.
Hello, welcome to the podcast.
Everyone.
You will not believe who I havehere with us today Jane Bacher.
She is the co-founder and CEOof Anya and yes, the Anya and
(00:46):
she is a Cornell Universitygraduate who began her career as
a buyer at Bloomingdale's andthen later played a key role in
launching Rent the Runway'sinnovative subscription service,
unlimited.
And then, after the birth ofher daughter, jean, shifted her
focus to the wellness space andbecoming a certified nutrition
(01:07):
consultant and PMA certifiedPilates instructor.
And now she's offering holisticguidance to women and I am just
thrilled to have her on thispodcast.
I have been such a huge fan ofhers.
We were just like sitting heretalking before recording, like
you know, just fangirling overeach other, and I'm just so
(01:27):
excited to have her tell me okay, jane, every powerful movement
kind of begins with a personalexperience, and you went from
launching one of the biggestsubscription fashion brands to
completely shifting gears intopostpartum wellness.
To completely shifting gearsinto postpartum wellness, like
what was the defining momentthat made you realize postpartum
(01:49):
care was not.
It was just like this brokensystem, and then you had to come
in and do something about it.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to answer that question.
But first of all, thank you somuch for having me.
What a lovely intro.
It's amazing.
I'm so excited to be here andto having this conversation with
you.
We just share so much about ourpassion for supporting new moms
through postpartum recovery andbeyond, so just just so excited
(02:21):
to be talking through this withyou.
So thank you and and yes, Iwould say I had to having my
daughter, you know, having mydaughter and my life totally
flipping upside down and kind ofhaving to blow everything up a
little bit, is what caused me tomake this big change and and
(02:41):
got me here where I am today.
I was actually just talkingabout this as somebody from a
kind of just like a careerchange perspective that like at
the time, what felt like thescariest thing in the entire
world kind of leaving behind acareer that I had worked so hard
to build and, from college, hadlike worked my way up to follow
(03:03):
one small piece of a passionwas like the scariest thing, and
I just wish that more people atthat time had told me like you
don't have to have a plan, takeone step and see where it goes,
take another step and see whereit goes.
So so, but backing up a littlebit.
You know, what led me to getinto this space and to want to
(03:25):
move from the fashion industryinto postpartum care and
postpartum wellness was, I think, like so many of us, becoming a
mom myself and truthfully beinglike what the fuck is this?
Why?
Why is there no support outthere for new moms?
Why is there nothing?
(03:45):
I mean, at this time this was10 years ago why is there no
information about what is goingon in my body, about what's
happening to me mentally andemotionally?
Why am I scouring the internetand trying to understand what's
happening and hack togethersolutions and talk with
different experts that I couldget my hands on, but none of it
(04:09):
was there when I was doing allof this preparation for bringing
home my daughter and becoming amom, and so I think it was just
that moment of like.
This just doesn't make anysense for something that we all
go through, and to feel sosupported during pregnancy and
feel so utterly unsupportedpostpartum it just it just
(04:33):
didn't make sense to me.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
And so then you developed Anya.
For those who may not know whatthat is which would be
absolutely insane to me Ifyou're in the postpartum world,
you know what Anya is, but telleverybody who's listening what
this is.
What did you create?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, so we like to think of ourselves as, like, the
postpartum experts.
So we're a wellness solutionfor moms and we created, I would
say, equal parts a line ofproducts to help moms navigate
postpartum, to help them feelbetter, to help support their
wellness holistically.
So inner and outer health, aswell as this educational
(05:12):
resource.
So what to expect postpartumall coming directly from over 50
different medical practitionersall across women's health, you
know, covering every topic, fromsex after birth to postpartum
mental health glossary to alactation timeline.
You know, down to like the week, what's happening, right?
(05:33):
So just trying to come at this,I think, what so many of us
know all too well, that likemiddle of the night Googling and
scouring and like trying tojust answer questions that you
don't know how to findinformation to.
So we really created thisresource for moms to help, you
(05:53):
know, help women through thisperiod of time, to help her
navigate all of these differentchanges and challenges that
she's facing.
And I think when we came tomarket and when I was sort of
starting to work on what becameAnya it was, I felt like there
was a little bit of like one.
I think people were one.
(06:15):
Everybody thinks of postpartumas kind of mental health and
that and that's what they thinkof.
Or postpartum recovery theythink of like those first couple
of weeks after baby comes,right after birth, and they
think about kind of the pads andpadsicles and para bottle and
those couple of things you needand then OK, as long as you stop
bleeding, like you're throughit.
And so what we're trying to dois help educate around how
(06:39):
significant these changes reallyare in the body and how long
postpartum recovery really is.
Again, I know things you talkabout all of the time and that
we can connect so deeply on andjust how how big this transition
and transformation is in awoman's body.
Help women understand that andhelp you know, give them kind of
(07:01):
grace and space to heal andrecover and then give them these
solutions for the very tangiblethings that happen, like
postpartum hair loss, the skinchanges, exhaustion, energy
depletion, everything lactationrelated.
So we've we've designed theseproducts around these specific
issues and then we deliver themin a bunch of ways but most
(07:24):
importantly, issues.
And then we deliver them in abunch of ways, but most
importantly and kind of ourbestseller is our postpartum
recovery plan.
So this is our subscriptionwhere we're kind of like holding
her hand through that firstyear postpartum.
So we ideally she's signing upduring pregnancy and it's kind
of like don't know what you need, don't worry, we've got you.
We send her first box aroundher due date and she receives
(07:45):
different products each monthtailored to her postpartum stage
.
So it's really focused on kindof the different changes that go
on in the body over time andtargeting those specific
solutions.
For an easy example that we canall connect to is for about
half of women who experiencepostpartum hair loss, it starts
(08:05):
around month three and it ishormonally driven.
So like this is not somethingthat we can prevent, but what we
can do is help to nourish andstimulate the hair follicles to
help it regrow back healthy andfull, and so we deliver our
scalp serum for postpartum hairloss at month three, right when
that's happening, and for thesubsequent four months so that
she's using that every day,hopefully through month seven
(08:28):
when it's starting to grow back.
So it's it's timed that way.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I could keep going, but I'm going to stop because I
love all of that you areproviding for for women and for
families, like this is such ahuge component to the care,
because we know that postpartumcare in the U S it's like
undeniably broken right and itleaving a lot of women
struggling with depletion anddepression and autoimmune
(08:52):
conditions and really beyond.
And I wondering what do youfeel like is the biggest
failures?
Like where?
Where are the biggest failureslying and what is the missing
piece, like the missingmainstream postpartum care?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
that needs to be addressed immediately oh gosh, I
mean, how much time do we havetoday?
You know what I mean.
It's so, oh, we tie.
You know I talk about, I knowyou do too.
We talk about this so much.
It's so multifac, which is whatmakes it so complicated, right.
(09:26):
It's healthcare, it's maternityand paternity leave policy,
it's cultural right, and so Ithink I guess I'm going to
answer your question this waybecause we are involved and are
aware of what's happening on thepolicy front in the kind of
(09:48):
healthcare space.
From my point of view and mybackground and my expertise, we
felt like our way to tackle thisis through changing the society
.
You know our society'sperception around what is this
and trying to shift, like awayfrom this idea that postpartum
(10:08):
equals postpartum depression orthat postpartum recovery is just
a couple of weeks, because ifwe can educate women and
caregivers and providers andtheir partners and their family
members, that one, the U?
S is the only country that isnot taking care of women
(10:30):
postpartum, we are doing itwrong, like we're the odd man
out Right and and two, that it'sreally important, like a
women's health during thisperiod of time is really
important and requires extracare, and like the gravity of
kind of what her body's gonethrough and how long that
recovery really is.
I think that then you haveconsumers demanding like right,
(10:54):
like demanding that extra time,demanding better care, taking
care of themselves, asking forsupport, like I think that
that's kind of how that has tohappen, because unfortunately we
are kind of we're far away fromlike some of those bigger
policies changing, and I thinkwe keep working on that too.
But so I guess I would just say, like our goal is to help
(11:17):
initiate that cultural shift sothat we're paying a bit more
attention.
I mean, we talk a lot aboutwhat exists in other parts of
the world, because that was ahuge inspiration for Anya and
what we're doing.
Yeah, me too in my business,yeah, you too right, yes, and
you know, I think, like and justme personally too.
Like when I learned about theway other parts of the world
(11:40):
care for mothers after birth andhow I mean I was speaking with
this woman from Hong Kong whoshe actually wasn't even a
mother, she wasn't pregnant,wasn't a mother, she wasn't even
in that stage of life yet.
And she said to me, when I wastelling her about my business,
she was like what do you meanthat that doesn't exist?
She's like, ever since I was achild, it's been ingrained in me
(12:01):
from my aunts and my mother andmy whole family that, like,
postpartum is a really importantperiod of time and the way that
I, the care that I get duringthat period of time, is going to
seriously impact my long-termhealth.
Like that's just something thatI know to be true.
I know that I'm going to reallyprioritize that and focus on it
(12:21):
and I'm going to need to take alot of time off and I'm going
to need to rest.
It was just so interestingbecause it's just not present,
right For us, that idea, andit's actually the opposite right
here.
It's like get back to work, getback to your former self,
bounce back like and make itlook easy, right?
So I don't know.
So that's that's where we feltlike we could tackle this and we
(12:42):
could start to spread thismessage and start to empower
women Like this is important.
You can, we can, make this alittle bit easier for you, right
, that's a that's a really bigpart of what we're doing, but I
don't know that I would say likeit's the most important thing
that needs to change because,truthfully, women need more time
(13:03):
off of work and they need to beable to do that in the
infrastructure of our like rightsystem and and they need more
healthcare after, after birth aswell.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
I love everything that you're sharing here, and I
was actually just listening to apodcast episode yesterday with
Tim Ferriss and Seth Godin, andhe was talking about how people
come into markets, trying tomake big shifts, big changes.
Right, and that's exactly whatyou and I are doing, and very
(13:35):
similar ways.
Right, you're working very muchwith moms.
I'm working very much withproviders, but we're doing the
exact same work, which is why Ilove you guys so much.
No-transcript to break thesystem in order to make it work
and function well, because weknow that the postpartum system,
(13:57):
which in the healthcare system,is not working and there's only
two ways in which you can breaka system or you can fix a
system, and that is one.
Have a lot of money, whichthat's not.
I don't have millions ofdollars to go into legislation
and you know, do all of thosethings and policy changes and
(14:18):
all of that, and the othercomponent which is what you and
I have taken is this become apart of it and our ways, and
then start having theseconversations, and I think the
best thing that we can do isjust do exactly what we're doing
so that women start standing upfor themselves, which is like
(14:40):
the hardest thing in the wholeworld, because so many women
don't recognize about anythingabout postpartum until they're
in the throes of it.
And then they're like, how comenobody told me?
I'm exhausted, I'm burnt, Icannot life, I can't function,
like what's wrong with me.
But that and then trying to, youknow, advocate for yourself on
top of it, like that is thehardest thing in the whole world
(15:03):
and that's why we exist so thatwe can provide that, make it
easier, so that women can feelempowered and stand up and say,
whoa, let's, let's get together.
Stand up and say, whoa, let's,let's get together, let's have
and do something very, verydifferent.
And again like this is one ofthe reasons why I love your work
(15:24):
so much, and postpartumuniversity has been working to
bridge this gap between modernmedicine and holistic root cause
postpartum healing, which isexactly what you're doing.
Your brand integrates kind ofall of these different
expertises that we train.
We train OBGYNs andpediatricians and doulas and
nutritionists and herbalists andyou guys are working with them
(15:47):
directly to support the moms.
And I would love to hear youropinion about why was it
important for you to bringtogether both the medical
community and the holisticproviders under one umbrella?
What was, what was the biggestchallenge in doing so as well?
I'd love to hear your thoughtson this.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Yeah, yeah, I just just love everything you're
saying and and and couldn'tagree more.
And I think we're coming at itdifferent angles but it's
absolutely the same goal.
And so we work with so manydifferent women's health
professionals and actually oneof our, one of our medical
advisors, a pediatrician.
She kind of calls us likehealth, how she describes us as
(16:35):
like health 3.0, like that.
We're entering very much likeyou are.
We're kind of entering thisspace where traditional
healthcare drops off.
But we know that there's a needand the need for support and we
can sort of pick up wheremedical providers aren't able in
(16:55):
the current infrastructure tobe there.
So, to answer your question, Ithink it's been very interesting
.
I think that there's certainlya personal element here to my
experience and interest withboth like Eastern and Western I
know that's technically not theright terminology to use, but
and how, with both like Easternand Western I know that's
(17:15):
technically not the rightterminology to use, but and how
important both are, andparticularly postpartum and
learning about so much ancientwisdom that exists in Eastern
medicine and Ayurveda and all ofthese different kind of Eastern
philosophies with herbs and thebenefits of herbal you know,
(17:36):
herbs, postpartum and and thesedifferent rituals and practices
post, as well as the the verynecessary nutritional support
that is needed, like the.
You know, we know and while Iknow you're working on this
there is not enough research outthere, but we do have.
We do have a lot to stand on,whether you know, with specific
(17:59):
nutrient deficiencies and howimportant that is specifically
postpartum, and how much womenwho are postpartum, versus
pregnancy or any other stage oflife, need more of.
You know, 15 key nutrients.
We need higher levelspostpartum than we did during
pregnancy, and so I think thatthere's and in the U S, there's
clinical research behindnutrition, right, and and I
(18:22):
think the consumer cares aboutthat that's really important,
right they need to be able tosee that that, like, there is
clinical research behind thisspecific ingredient and and we
can see this link between mentalhealth and vitamin D or
omega-3s or whatever it is.
So I think it's twofold.
The importance of bridging thatgap is is knowing that we can
(18:45):
pull from kind of this ancient,this historical use that for
thousands of years, womenpostpartum have been using these
specific herbs and thesespecific methodologies, as well
as modern science aroundnutritional needs postpartum,
and blending this into somethingthat can appeal to everyone.
(19:07):
I think that sometimes,unfortunately, like herbs, can
be alienating, right Like andit's it's just our culture,
right Like we, we want clinicalevidence and if it's not there,
we, you know, don't believe it.
So I think we were successfullyable to create something that I
feel really excited about, uskind of bringing in, whether
(19:30):
it's into our, our tonics wehave these liquid vitamins, our
energy drops and our recoverydrops that utilize both vitamins
and herbs to kind of targetthese specific functions that we
were able to create, somethingthat draws on these ancient
windstones but also pulls in theclinical evidence that is
needed.
And to your question, it wasdefinitely a challenge Even to
(19:55):
work with the different medicalexperts and get us all to
communicate in this, you know,in the same way, and but I think
one more thing I'll say just onthat and how important it was,
is postpartum recovery.
And again, you this is I feellike I'm speaking to you know,
please go ahead and preach tothe choir.
(20:16):
Like it's so a huge problem withour system, which you are so
excitingly working on and tryingto change, is that the
healthcare, the only healthcarethat exists is like you have
your OBGYN or midwife, but thetruth is is that there is this
there are so many otherspecialists that are needed and
involved in postpartum care andpostpartum recovery.
(20:38):
Right, there's pelvic floor,there's mental health, there's
lactation support, there's youknow, actually even forget all
the names of the.
There are so many differenttechnical specialties out there,
and there are so many parts ofthe body that are impacted by
post-term recovery, but we don'tmost women don't have the
(20:59):
opportunity to meet with any ofthese different specialists,
right, maybe they have that onevisit with their OBGYN or their
midwife, and so it was reallyimportant to us that we were
working with a very wide rangeof professionals to pull in
these insights and get thisinformation, like, for example,
on our in our part and post whenwe talk about sex after birth
(21:21):
one article, I think.
We interviewed six differentspecialists on that topic
because, like we want to, wewant to speak to an OBGYN about
that, but we also want to talkto a pelvic floor physical
therapist, a psychotherapist,you know, like multiple
specialists that are.
It's.
It's very complicated, it'sright, it's.
There's the physical aspects,there's the mental aspects,
(21:43):
there's the like, myrelationship dynamic.
Right, there's, there's so muchthere.
So we were did our best to tryto pull in all of these
different expertise under oneroof.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Postpartum professionals.
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(22:19):
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(22:41):
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(23:04):
Working in this field isinsanely difficult because you
do have you're working withpeople who hold different values
sometimes and where oftentimes,like the natural things, like
herbs, is often like sometimeskind of a taboo conversation,
like if you're a provider who'srecommending you know herbs or
tinctures or you know some othernutrition, even if you're
(23:28):
mentioning that nutrition canactually make a difference.
There is a group, a segment ofproviders who think you're
absolutely nuts, right, and soit's very hard to like, blend
both of these worlds together ina way that's truly beautiful
and, and I hear you like this isthe.
(23:48):
This is the crux of the, youknow, western society and
medical world and the systemthat we live in.
We so compartmentalize the bodyand so we have to have all of
these different specialists.
You know, you have one for your, your hormones, and you have
one for your brain, and then youhave one for your pelvic floor
and you have, you know, one foryour breastfeeding and like all
(24:10):
of these different things.
For me, like one of the myultimate dreams and maybe we'll
get there with postpartumuniversity, maybe not, maybe
we'll just help pave the way isto have like one postpartum
specialist.
I know.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Right, yes, I have the same.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Wouldn't that be like the most ultimate thing that
everybody would just go have ababy and they would be working
in pregnancy, they would meettheir postpartum specialist and
then they would stay with thatspecialist for a year or longer
if they needed it, depending onthe scenario, depending did they
have twins, did they have aNICU birth, did they have, you
(24:51):
know, you know, some sort ofautoimmune disease or whatever.
They would stay longer,whatever the case would be, but
they would stay with that personand meet with them throughout
that year and just like reallyhone in on their health and
their wellbeing.
Oh, that to me would be likethe ultimate.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
It's the dream, it's absolutely the dream, at the
very least of practice that hasall of those professionals under
one roof.
Right Like that.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah, that we wouldn't have to like schedule
individual appointments to gosee, because they would all be
on the same page and they wouldall be right there, which I I
think is also a very part oflike the more European way of
doing things.
I was chatting with a friendwho was going through some.
She found a breast lump andshe's from the U?
S and then she went over toEurope and she was there for a
(25:42):
couple of months when she foundthis lump and she was like, oh
my gosh, what am I going to do,right?
And so she ended up walkinginto this clinic and she's
expecting to.
Okay, I'm first I've got to getthis referral and then I've got
to wait a week or two and thenI'm going to go see this
specialist and then I'm going towait a little bit longer and
then finally go get, like youknow, my ultrasound or whatever
(26:04):
you know MRI, whatever it isthat they are going to decide to
do, and then I'm going to haveto schedule another meet with my
provider, and then they'regoing to tell me what's going on
and then make a plan, right?
No, she walked into the clinic,said this is that, this is what
I'm experiencing, and here's mybreast lump and they're like,
oh, no problem, I want you towalk over to next door and like
(26:27):
the door down and go get yourscreening and let's figure it
out.
And by the time she walked outwithin an hour or two having the
exact answer, she did not havecancer and she knew exactly what
she needed to do and what tolike.
And I'm like, what?
Like how in the world did you,how?
(26:48):
How is that even humanlypossible?
There is a whole system inplace and other parts of the
world that we are we don't evenknow, and to have that for
postpartum to where you know andinsurance is like a huge
combative thing right now and ithas always been and I think
we're bringing into light likeit's so hard.
(27:08):
Right, you have to have thatreferral in order for your
insurance to pay, and thenyou've got to wait for a bit for
it to get approved, whatever,and then you go see your
provider and so just scratch allof that and just have somebody
there who understands and youcan talk to and who gets it and
every single part of your body.
Like that holistic approach.
(27:28):
That would be a dream.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
You know, I was just thinking as you're talking and
maybe I would love to hear.
Can I ask you a question?
Yes, yeah, I would love to hearyour thoughts on this.
I was literally with my twobest friends last night at, one
of whom is newly postpartum andthe other, who just had her
second baby, actually be asurrogate, so she's not
(27:52):
technically postpartum but has ahas a new baby.
And we were talking about myfriend had just finished her one
six week checkup, right, andthey know I've been working on
this for so long.
They're like you know they arevery, very informed on
everything, right, becausebecause of me.
But they were asking me they'relike.
But they were asking me they'relike.
(28:13):
They were both just like, soperplexed by the like how, how
is it possible that in thiscountry, like it's, it's
dangerous, it's dangerous whatwe're doing, as, as we know, and
I'm explaining to them like,yes, it is dangerous, like
maternal mortality rates willshow you.
But like I'm curious.
They were like why, how is itpossible that, yeah, we only
(28:37):
have one postpartum visit withour OBGYN and how is it possible
that, like, how did we get here?
How are we so different thaneverywhere else?
And I kind of have my ownanswer to that.
But like I'm really curious,because you're just so much
closer to that side of things,like how do you answer that?
I think?
Speaker 1 (28:57):
at first, we have to look at how the definition of
postpartum was developed, whichwas by a bunch of men who
claimed that the uterusreturning to its pre-pregnancy
state and the time between fromthe moment we have a baby to its
return became postpartum, toits return became postpartum.
(29:25):
And so we have to look at it, Ithink, from a patriarchal lens
honestly and say this is howthat was developed and for the
longest time, and even stilltoday, I think it's finally
shifting and changing.
But new nutrition and women'shealthcare and how women's
bodies react to certainmedications and all of that, all
of that was never done and it'sjust now starting to be done.
(29:48):
So science has always ignoredwomen because our bodies are so
much more profound and it wasalways believed that our bodies
were too difficult to studybecause of our hormone levels,
and so they just ignored it,right.
And so, even if you look atnutritional studies, they were
(30:09):
done.
You know the recommended dailyallowances and I share this
quite frequently.
These were done and developedby men.
Those were studies done on men.
And then they came together, apanel of people, also mostly men
, who just said well, we'regoing to reduce these numbers to
fit a smaller human being, ie afemale, and so that's how those
(30:32):
numbers were developed.
And then, oh, if she's pregnantor breastfeeding, we're just
going to add in a couple hundredcalories and we're going to
call it good, and that's how it,how it's been developed.
And so I think this whole ideaof postpartum care and women's
healthcare in general is justbeen run by a bunch of men who
don't know any better.
Unfortunately, and thankfully,I think that's shifting and
(30:56):
changing.
But also, you know, we look at,we look at providers.
I just did a beautiful interviewwith a doctor who works and
specializes in postpartum care.
She's kind of like shifted herher work as an OBGYN to focus
more on perinatal mental health,and this conversation that I
(31:18):
had with her and we'll link thatin the podcast, for if you
haven't listened to it was soprofound because she was like we
never got any of this.
We were never trained as anOBGYN, I was never trained on
anything outside of acutepostpartum care.
I just I'm here to make surethat you're not bleeding anymore
(31:38):
and you're on your way, andthen I have to refer you out to
a pelvic floor specialist, Ihave to refer you out to a
mental health care specialist orwhatever, because I have no
knowledge whatsoever not trainedin nutrition, not trained in
herbs, I'm not trained in pelvicfloor.
I'm not trained in anything.
And that's the same with.
(32:00):
We look at counselors right,they're not trained in anything.
Postpartum, they walk away withan entire degree, a license and
everything, not knowing a singlething about postpartum.
They have to go to a secondarylearning facility in order to
gain that knowledge.
And that's why postpartumuniversity exists, so that we
can be that bridge and be thatgap, to bridge that gap,
(32:23):
essentially for providers whonever got that training, who are
saying wait a second, there'ssomething else here that I need
to know that I'm missingsignificantly.
And so, to answer your question, I think like there is this
massive gap because nobody'stalking about it, nobody's like
it's never been important andwomen have always been deemed
(32:44):
too complicated.
And that's exactly what happenswhen we walk into an
appointment.
Right, it's like oh, it's justyour hormones, it's too
complicated.
Here's your birth control, likeI don't know it, which
translates to I have no earthlyidea how to help you.
Exactly Right, exactly, right,exactly.
That's the best I can do.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
You know we that it resonates so much because I was
going to say this before whenyou were asking about kind of
the challenges of navigating thedifferent professionals and
trying to bridge that gap, oneof the things we had exactly
that experience when we were,you know, creating Anya.
So it started with I started byjust going into women's homes
(33:26):
like doing like, like I live inNew York city and so I was just
like going to their home.
We were reading their medicinecabinet, we pulled it all out of
the bed and I'm like, okay,what?
Like first of all, sit down andtheir baby is, you know,
sitting next to them.
I'm like, talk to me Like, whatare you going through?
What are you feeling?
What's, what are you strugglingwith?
Show me what you have.
What are you using?
What's helpful to you, what'snot?
(33:47):
And then we surveyed 2000 womenacross the country and ask them
what, what, what were yourgreatest struggles?
And and so, as we're developingthese different products, the
what came to light is whatthey're, what they're
experiencing and feeling is likeexhaustion, depletion, right.
And as we're, as we'rebeginning to research, we're
(34:11):
asking them like where are you?
Where are you finding out about?
You know, where are you goingto get referrals for what you
should be taking, like are youtaking any vitamins?
Or where are you going?
And they're every 90% of womenI'm going to my OBGYN to figure
out which vitamin I should betaking.
I'm going to my OBGYN and we'relike okay, so we've got to work
(34:31):
with OBGYNs.
We we probably spoke to I thinkwe talked to like 40 OBGYNs
across the country and all ofthem told us the exact same
thing.
We went to them because we'relike we know that.
We know that your patients arecoming to you and asking you
(34:52):
during pregnancy, which vitaminshould I be taking and what
should I take after birth, andthey told us we are not trained
on nutrition, we don't knowanything about this.
They do all come to us.
I sort of skim the label andcheck for two things to just
make sure that the two that Iknow about are folate during
(35:12):
pregnancy and iron right, likethey were like or folic acid
right.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Not even folate right .
Speaker 2 (35:19):
True, true, true, true.
Most of them said pull back, sototally, and I just sort of
make sure that that's like thehigh enough, high enough levels
and and send them on their wayand they're absolutely like,
admittedly, like this is not apart of our training, it's not
something that like and theseare like new doc, new obese,
right Like, went through theirdegree at various times and we
(35:48):
were just like.
This doesn't make any sense.
The number one like trustedsource and source of truth for
new moms is not trained on thisstuff, and I know this is what
you're doing and it's so, it'sso important and so incredible.
And then then even further, likeeverything you're talking about
with the DRIs don't get mestarted.
Like the FDA actually has thesame recommended daily intake
for pregnant and post postnatalright.
(36:09):
They don't even differentiate.
So on our vitamin labels wehave to list the FDA right
requirements.
But we're using the Instituteof medicine.
We partnered with registereddietitians who told us no, no,
like, this is the gold standard,this is what you trust.
And look, the recommendedintake is different for
postnatal versus prenatal.
And so that's, this is whatwe're like, and you know, it is
(36:31):
just every step of the way.
It's like we can't even listthe right requirements on our
bottle.
We're just hoping that our youknow, we we try to give our
consumers like all of thisinformation, like, look like,
but it's, it's just, it's socomplicated because they don't
even have the right person to goto to ask for this stuff and
(36:52):
they're going to somebody whoknows nothing about it.
So I can just, it's just, it's,it's crazy, it's totally crazy.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I can talk with you forever on this and I think
there's like a partnershiphappening here in the future.
I can feel it and I just loveeverything that you're saying
and everything that you're doingand we're just like, yes, yes,
yes.
Like if you see the video, ourheads are just shaking.
Yeah, yeah, oh, it's so funny.
(37:18):
I would love to ask one lastquestion.
Like, first off, share withpeople where they can find you,
but, moving forward, becausethere's so much work to do.
Like, what is the future ofAnya?
Like, where are you all headed?
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Well, first of all, a near future thing kind of
answers your first question.
So where can you find us?
So you can always find us onour website.
This is Anyacom, and we alsowanted to make sure that
listeners, if they areinterested in trying out Anya
and trying our products, wewould love to offer a discount
code.
So if they use the codePOSTPARTUM20, they can get 20%
(37:57):
off any products, any order.
So, please, please, do, checkus out.
We're also on Instagram atthisisanyacom.
Oh my gosh, on Instagram,thisisanya and our Instagram, I
would say, like we really do,it's probably 80 to 90%
educational content versusproducts.
So that's really what we usethat channel for, and we are
(38:19):
always in DMs and always talkingwith moms.
So, like when they write, weuse that you know that channel
for and we are always in DMs andalways talking with moms.
So, like when they write in andask us a question, like I'm,
I'm experiencing this, I'mstruggling with this.
We love that because not onlycan we pass off one of our
experts and answer theirquestion, but it also helps
inform our content and like what, what are moms really needing
and wanting from us?
(38:39):
So that's where they can findus and then, very excitingly, we
are officially launching inTarget in March, so we will be
in.
Target stores all across thecountry.
We are not in every singlestore, but we are in 300 stores
across the country, so I thinkmost people listening and
hopefully we'll be able to findus in a store near them.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
That's such a huge accomplishment, congratulations
on that.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
Thank you so much.
It really is, and you know whatLike for me.
Of course, it's a hugeaccomplishment for the business
and it's an exciting step.
It's an exciting step.
More importantly for me is thefact that mass retail is getting
on board with back to our wholeconversation around, like just
(39:28):
educating the consumer andgetting her to demand more, Like
it's coming around.
We're making a huge step in theright direction.
If mass retail feels that thereis demand out there for mom
care, mom wellness, rightPostpartum recovery, like the,
the aisle is growing andexpanding and and I'm so excited
that we're, you know, we're apart of it and it's just, it's a
(39:48):
.
It's a really big, big step.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Good for you.
This is, this is amazing.
I hope you take time tocelebrate that and, for
everybody who's listening in,we're going to include all of
those links and your discountcode, by the way.
Thank you so much for that, andthat'll all be here in the show
notes for you, Jane such apleasure, so much fun.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
I can't wait to continue this offline.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Thanks so much for being a part of this crucial
conversation.
I know you're dedicated toadvancing postpartum care and if
you're ready to dig deeper,come join us on our newsletter,
where I share exclusive insights, resources and the latest tools
to help you make a lastingimpact on postpartum health.
(40:35):
Sign up at postpartumu theletter ucom which is in the show
notes, and if you found today'sepisode valuable, please leave
a review to help us reach moreproviders like you.
Together, we're building afuture where mothers are fully
supported and thriving you.
The postpartum care system is failing, leaving
countless mothers strugglingwith depression, anxiety and
autoimmune conditions.
I'm Miranda Bauer and I'vehelped thousands of providers
use holistic care practices toheal their clients at the root.
Subscribe now and join us inaddressing what modern medicine
(00:22):
overlooks, so that you can giveyour clients real, lasting
solutions for lifelongwell-being.
Hello, welcome to the podcast.
Everyone.
You will not believe who I havehere with us today Jane Bacher.
She is the co-founder and CEOof Anya and yes, the Anya and
(00:46):
she is a Cornell Universitygraduate who began her career as
a buyer at Bloomingdale's andthen later played a key role in
launching Rent the Runway'sinnovative subscription service,
unlimited.
And then, after the birth ofher daughter, jean, shifted her
focus to the wellness space andbecoming a certified nutrition
(01:07):
consultant and PMA certifiedPilates instructor.
And now she's offering holisticguidance to women and I am just
thrilled to have her on thispodcast.
I have been such a huge fan ofhers.
We were just like sitting heretalking before recording, like
you know, just fangirling overeach other, and I'm just so
(01:27):
excited to have her tell me okay, jane, every powerful movement
kind of begins with a personalexperience, and you went from
launching one of the biggestsubscription fashion brands to
completely shifting gears intopostpartum wellness.
To completely shifting gearsinto postpartum wellness, like
what was the defining momentthat made you realize postpartum
(01:49):
care was not.
It was just like this brokensystem, and then you had to come
in and do something about it.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to answer that question.
But first of all, thank you somuch for having me.
What a lovely intro.
It's amazing.
I'm so excited to be here andto having this conversation with
you.
We just share so much about ourpassion for supporting new moms
through postpartum recovery andbeyond, so just just so excited
(02:21):
to be talking through this withyou.
So thank you and and yes, Iwould say I had to having my
daughter, you know, having mydaughter and my life totally
flipping upside down and kind ofhaving to blow everything up a
little bit, is what caused me tomake this big change and and
(02:41):
got me here where I am today.
I was actually just talkingabout this as somebody from a
kind of just like a careerchange perspective that like at
the time, what felt like thescariest thing in the entire
world kind of leaving behind acareer that I had worked so hard
to build and, from college, hadlike worked my way up to follow
(03:03):
one small piece of a passionwas like the scariest thing, and
I just wish that more people atthat time had told me like you
don't have to have a plan, takeone step and see where it goes,
take another step and see whereit goes.
So so, but backing up a littlebit.
You know, what led me to getinto this space and to want to
(03:25):
move from the fashion industryinto postpartum care and
postpartum wellness was, I think, like so many of us, becoming a
mom myself and truthfully beinglike what the fuck is this?
Why?
Why is there no support outthere for new moms?
Why is there nothing?
(03:45):
I mean, at this time this was10 years ago why is there no
information about what is goingon in my body, about what's
happening to me mentally andemotionally?
Why am I scouring the internetand trying to understand what's
happening and hack togethersolutions and talk with
different experts that I couldget my hands on, but none of it
(04:09):
was there when I was doing allof this preparation for bringing
home my daughter and becoming amom, and so I think it was just
that moment of like.
This just doesn't make anysense for something that we all
go through, and to feel sosupported during pregnancy and
feel so utterly unsupportedpostpartum it just it just
(04:33):
didn't make sense to me.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
And so then you developed Anya.
For those who may not know whatthat is which would be
absolutely insane to me Ifyou're in the postpartum world,
you know what Anya is, but telleverybody who's listening what
this is.
What did you create?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, so we like to think of ourselves as, like, the
postpartum experts.
So we're a wellness solutionfor moms and we created, I would
say, equal parts a line ofproducts to help moms navigate
postpartum, to help them feelbetter, to help support their
wellness holistically.
So inner and outer health, aswell as this educational
(05:12):
resource.
So what to expect postpartumall coming directly from over 50
different medical practitionersall across women's health, you
know, covering every topic, fromsex after birth to postpartum
mental health glossary to alactation timeline.
You know, down to like the week, what's happening, right?
(05:33):
So just trying to come at this,I think, what so many of us
know all too well, that likemiddle of the night Googling and
scouring and like trying tojust answer questions that you
don't know how to findinformation to.
So we really created thisresource for moms to help, you
(05:53):
know, help women through thisperiod of time, to help her
navigate all of these differentchanges and challenges that
she's facing.
And I think when we came tomarket and when I was sort of
starting to work on what becameAnya it was, I felt like there
was a little bit of like one.
I think people were one.
(06:15):
Everybody thinks of postpartumas kind of mental health and
that and that's what they thinkof.
Or postpartum recovery theythink of like those first couple
of weeks after baby comes,right after birth, and they
think about kind of the pads andpadsicles and para bottle and
those couple of things you needand then OK, as long as you stop
bleeding, like you're throughit.
And so what we're trying to dois help educate around how
(06:39):
significant these changes reallyare in the body and how long
postpartum recovery really is.
Again, I know things you talkabout all of the time and that
we can connect so deeply on andjust how how big this transition
and transformation is in awoman's body.
Help women understand that andhelp you know, give them kind of
(07:01):
grace and space to heal andrecover and then give them these
solutions for the very tangiblethings that happen, like
postpartum hair loss, the skinchanges, exhaustion, energy
depletion, everything lactationrelated.
So we've we've designed theseproducts around these specific
issues and then we deliver themin a bunch of ways but most
(07:24):
importantly, issues.
And then we deliver them in abunch of ways, but most
importantly and kind of ourbestseller is our postpartum
recovery plan.
So this is our subscriptionwhere we're kind of like holding
her hand through that firstyear postpartum.
So we ideally she's signing upduring pregnancy and it's kind
of like don't know what you need, don't worry, we've got you.
We send her first box aroundher due date and she receives
(07:45):
different products each monthtailored to her postpartum stage
.
So it's really focused on kindof the different changes that go
on in the body over time andtargeting those specific
solutions.
For an easy example that we canall connect to is for about
half of women who experiencepostpartum hair loss, it starts
(08:05):
around month three and it ishormonally driven.
So like this is not somethingthat we can prevent, but what we
can do is help to nourish andstimulate the hair follicles to
help it regrow back healthy andfull, and so we deliver our
scalp serum for postpartum hairloss at month three, right when
that's happening, and for thesubsequent four months so that
she's using that every day,hopefully through month seven
(08:28):
when it's starting to grow back.
So it's it's timed that way.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I could keep going, but I'm going to stop because I
love all of that you areproviding for for women and for
families, like this is such ahuge component to the care,
because we know that postpartumcare in the U S it's like
undeniably broken right and itleaving a lot of women
struggling with depletion anddepression and autoimmune
(08:52):
conditions and really beyond.
And I wondering what do youfeel like is the biggest
failures?
Like where?
Where are the biggest failureslying and what is the missing
piece, like the missingmainstream postpartum care?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
that needs to be addressed immediately oh gosh, I
mean, how much time do we havetoday?
You know what I mean.
It's so, oh, we tie.
You know I talk about, I knowyou do too.
We talk about this so much.
It's so multifac, which is whatmakes it so complicated, right.
(09:26):
It's healthcare, it's maternityand paternity leave policy,
it's cultural right, and so Ithink I guess I'm going to
answer your question this waybecause we are involved and are
aware of what's happening on thepolicy front in the kind of
(09:48):
healthcare space.
From my point of view and mybackground and my expertise, we
felt like our way to tackle thisis through changing the society
.
You know our society'sperception around what is this
and trying to shift, like awayfrom this idea that postpartum
(10:08):
equals postpartum depression orthat postpartum recovery is just
a couple of weeks, because ifwe can educate women and
caregivers and providers andtheir partners and their family
members, that one, the U?
S is the only country that isnot taking care of women
(10:30):
postpartum, we are doing itwrong, like we're the odd man
out Right and and two, that it'sreally important, like a
women's health during thisperiod of time is really
important and requires extracare, and like the gravity of
kind of what her body's gonethrough and how long that
recovery really is.
I think that then you haveconsumers demanding like right,
(10:54):
like demanding that extra time,demanding better care, taking
care of themselves, asking forsupport, like I think that
that's kind of how that has tohappen, because unfortunately we
are kind of we're far away fromlike some of those bigger
policies changing, and I thinkwe keep working on that too.
But so I guess I would just say, like our goal is to help
(11:17):
initiate that cultural shift sothat we're paying a bit more
attention.
I mean, we talk a lot aboutwhat exists in other parts of
the world, because that was ahuge inspiration for Anya and
what we're doing.
Yeah, me too in my business,yeah, you too right, yes, and
you know, I think, like and justme personally too.
Like when I learned about theway other parts of the world
(11:40):
care for mothers after birth andhow I mean I was speaking with
this woman from Hong Kong whoshe actually wasn't even a
mother, she wasn't pregnant,wasn't a mother, she wasn't even
in that stage of life yet.
And she said to me, when I wastelling her about my business,
she was like what do you meanthat that doesn't exist?
She's like, ever since I was achild, it's been ingrained in me
(12:01):
from my aunts and my mother andmy whole family that, like,
postpartum is a really importantperiod of time and the way that
I, the care that I get duringthat period of time, is going to
seriously impact my long-termhealth.
Like that's just something thatI know to be true.
I know that I'm going to reallyprioritize that and focus on it
(12:21):
and I'm going to need to take alot of time off and I'm going
to need to rest.
It was just so interestingbecause it's just not present,
right For us, that idea, andit's actually the opposite right
here.
It's like get back to work, getback to your former self,
bounce back like and make itlook easy, right?
So I don't know.
So that's that's where we feltlike we could tackle this and we
(12:42):
could start to spread thismessage and start to empower
women Like this is important.
You can, we can, make this alittle bit easier for you, right
, that's a that's a really bigpart of what we're doing, but I
don't know that I would say likeit's the most important thing
that needs to change because,truthfully, women need more time
(13:03):
off of work and they need to beable to do that in the
infrastructure of our like rightsystem and and they need more
healthcare after, after birth aswell.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
I love everything that you're sharing here, and I
was actually just listening to apodcast episode yesterday with
Tim Ferriss and Seth Godin, andhe was talking about how people
come into markets, trying tomake big shifts, big changes.
Right, and that's exactly whatyou and I are doing, and very
(13:35):
similar ways.
Right, you're working very muchwith moms.
I'm working very much withproviders, but we're doing the
exact same work, which is why Ilove you guys so much.
No-transcript to break thesystem in order to make it work
and function well, because weknow that the postpartum system,
(13:57):
which in the healthcare system,is not working and there's only
two ways in which you can breaka system or you can fix a
system, and that is one.
Have a lot of money, whichthat's not.
I don't have millions ofdollars to go into legislation
and you know, do all of thosethings and policy changes and
(14:18):
all of that, and the othercomponent which is what you and
I have taken is this become apart of it and our ways, and
then start having theseconversations, and I think the
best thing that we can do isjust do exactly what we're doing
so that women start standing upfor themselves, which is like
(14:40):
the hardest thing in the wholeworld, because so many women
don't recognize about anythingabout postpartum until they're
in the throes of it.
And then they're like, how comenobody told me?
I'm exhausted, I'm burnt, Icannot life, I can't function,
like what's wrong with me.
But that and then trying to, youknow, advocate for yourself on
top of it, like that is thehardest thing in the whole world
(15:03):
and that's why we exist so thatwe can provide that, make it
easier, so that women can feelempowered and stand up and say,
whoa, let's, let's get together.
Stand up and say, whoa, let's,let's get together, let's have
and do something very, verydifferent.
And again like this is one ofthe reasons why I love your work
(15:24):
so much, and postpartumuniversity has been working to
bridge this gap between modernmedicine and holistic root cause
postpartum healing, which isexactly what you're doing.
Your brand integrates kind ofall of these different
expertises that we train.
We train OBGYNs andpediatricians and doulas and
nutritionists and herbalists andyou guys are working with them
(15:47):
directly to support the moms.
And I would love to hear youropinion about why was it
important for you to bringtogether both the medical
community and the holisticproviders under one umbrella?
What was, what was the biggestchallenge in doing so as well?
I'd love to hear your thoughtson this.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Yeah, yeah, I just just love everything you're
saying and and and couldn'tagree more.
And I think we're coming at itdifferent angles but it's
absolutely the same goal.
And so we work with so manydifferent women's health
professionals and actually oneof our, one of our medical
advisors, a pediatrician.
She kind of calls us likehealth, how she describes us as
(16:35):
like health 3.0, like that.
We're entering very much likeyou are.
We're kind of entering thisspace where traditional
healthcare drops off.
But we know that there's a needand the need for support and we
can sort of pick up wheremedical providers aren't able in
(16:55):
the current infrastructure tobe there.
So, to answer your question, Ithink it's been very interesting
.
I think that there's certainlya personal element here to my
experience and interest withboth like Eastern and Western I
know that's technically not theright terminology to use, but
and how, with both like Easternand Western I know that's
(17:15):
technically not the rightterminology to use, but and how
important both are, andparticularly postpartum and
learning about so much ancientwisdom that exists in Eastern
medicine and Ayurveda and all ofthese different kind of Eastern
philosophies with herbs and thebenefits of herbal you know,
(17:36):
herbs, postpartum and and thesedifferent rituals and practices
post, as well as the the verynecessary nutritional support
that is needed, like the.
You know, we know and while Iknow you're working on this
there is not enough research outthere, but we do have.
We do have a lot to stand on,whether you know, with specific
(17:59):
nutrient deficiencies and howimportant that is specifically
postpartum, and how much womenwho are postpartum, versus
pregnancy or any other stage oflife, need more of.
You know, 15 key nutrients.
We need higher levelspostpartum than we did during
pregnancy, and so I think thatthere's and in the U S, there's
clinical research behindnutrition, right, and and I
(18:22):
think the consumer cares aboutthat that's really important,
right they need to be able tosee that that, like, there is
clinical research behind thisspecific ingredient and and we
can see this link between mentalhealth and vitamin D or
omega-3s or whatever it is.
So I think it's twofold.
The importance of bridging thatgap is is knowing that we can
(18:45):
pull from kind of this ancient,this historical use that for
thousands of years, womenpostpartum have been using these
specific herbs and thesespecific methodologies, as well
as modern science aroundnutritional needs postpartum,
and blending this into somethingthat can appeal to everyone.
(19:07):
I think that sometimes,unfortunately, like herbs, can
be alienating, right Like andit's it's just our culture,
right Like we, we want clinicalevidence and if it's not there,
we, you know, don't believe it.
So I think we were successfullyable to create something that I
feel really excited about, uskind of bringing in, whether
(19:30):
it's into our, our tonics wehave these liquid vitamins, our
energy drops and our recoverydrops that utilize both vitamins
and herbs to kind of targetthese specific functions that we
were able to create, somethingthat draws on these ancient
windstones but also pulls in theclinical evidence that is
needed.
And to your question, it wasdefinitely a challenge Even to
(19:55):
work with the different medicalexperts and get us all to
communicate in this, you know,in the same way, and but I think
one more thing I'll say just onthat and how important it was,
is postpartum recovery.
And again, you this is I feellike I'm speaking to you know,
please go ahead and preach tothe choir.
(20:16):
Like it's so a huge problem withour system, which you are so
excitingly working on and tryingto change, is that the
healthcare, the only healthcarethat exists is like you have
your OBGYN or midwife, but thetruth is is that there is this
there are so many otherspecialists that are needed and
involved in postpartum care andpostpartum recovery.
(20:38):
Right, there's pelvic floor,there's mental health, there's
lactation support, there's youknow, actually even forget all
the names of the.
There are so many differenttechnical specialties out there,
and there are so many parts ofthe body that are impacted by
post-term recovery, but we don'tmost women don't have the
(20:59):
opportunity to meet with any ofthese different specialists,
right, maybe they have that onevisit with their OBGYN or their
midwife, and so it was reallyimportant to us that we were
working with a very wide rangeof professionals to pull in
these insights and get thisinformation, like, for example,
on our in our part and post whenwe talk about sex after birth
(21:21):
one article, I think.
We interviewed six differentspecialists on that topic
because, like we want to, wewant to speak to an OBGYN about
that, but we also want to talkto a pelvic floor physical
therapist, a psychotherapist,you know, like multiple
specialists that are.
It's.
It's very complicated, it'sright, it's.
There's the physical aspects,there's the mental aspects,
(21:43):
there's the like, myrelationship dynamic.
Right, there's, there's so muchthere.
So we were did our best to tryto pull in all of these
different expertise under oneroof.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Postpartum professionals.
This is for you.
You already know thatpostpartum care is broken.
Mothers are struggling withdepletion, hormone imbalances,
mental health challenges andautoimmune diseases, and
conventional care is not cuttingit.
The postpartum nutritioncertification is the only
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postpartum nutrition.
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designed specifically forpostpartum providers like you.
(22:19):
You'll gain access to the rootcause knowledge, research-backed
frameworks and practical toolsthat you need to elevate your
expertise, improve clientoutcomes and position yourself
as the go-to provider inpostpartum care.
Become a certified postpartumnutrition specialist and lead
the movement in postpartumhealing.
(22:41):
Enroll now.
There is limited seats.
Actually, we had to open a newcohort because the program sold
out to our wait list, so youhave until March 16th to
register or until it's fullagain, whichever comes first.
So register now at postpartumyou letter youcom slash
certification.
(23:04):
Working in this field isinsanely difficult because you
do have you're working withpeople who hold different values
sometimes and where oftentimes,like the natural things, like
herbs, is often like sometimeskind of a taboo conversation,
like if you're a provider who'srecommending you know herbs or
tinctures or you know some othernutrition, even if you're
(23:28):
mentioning that nutrition canactually make a difference.
There is a group, a segment ofproviders who think you're
absolutely nuts, right, and soit's very hard to like, blend
both of these worlds together ina way that's truly beautiful
and, and I hear you like this isthe.
(23:48):
This is the crux of the, youknow, western society and
medical world and the systemthat we live in.
We so compartmentalize the bodyand so we have to have all of
these different specialists.
You know, you have one for your, your hormones, and you have
one for your brain, and then youhave one for your pelvic floor
and you have, you know, one foryour breastfeeding and like all
(24:10):
of these different things.
For me, like one of the myultimate dreams and maybe we'll
get there with postpartumuniversity, maybe not, maybe
we'll just help pave the way isto have like one postpartum
specialist.
I know.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Right, yes, I have the same.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Wouldn't that be like the most ultimate thing that
everybody would just go have ababy and they would be working
in pregnancy, they would meettheir postpartum specialist and
then they would stay with thatspecialist for a year or longer
if they needed it, depending onthe scenario, depending did they
have twins, did they have aNICU birth, did they have, you
(24:51):
know, you know, some sort ofautoimmune disease or whatever.
They would stay longer,whatever the case would be, but
they would stay with that personand meet with them throughout
that year and just like reallyhone in on their health and
their wellbeing.
Oh, that to me would be likethe ultimate.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
It's the dream, it's absolutely the dream, at the
very least of practice that hasall of those professionals under
one roof.
Right Like that.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah, that we wouldn't have to like schedule
individual appointments to gosee, because they would all be
on the same page and they wouldall be right there, which I I
think is also a very part oflike the more European way of
doing things.
I was chatting with a friendwho was going through some.
She found a breast lump andshe's from the U?
S and then she went over toEurope and she was there for a
(25:42):
couple of months when she foundthis lump and she was like, oh
my gosh, what am I going to do,right?
And so she ended up walkinginto this clinic and she's
expecting to.
Okay, I'm first I've got to getthis referral and then I've got
to wait a week or two and thenI'm going to go see this
specialist and then I'm going towait a little bit longer and
then finally go get, like youknow, my ultrasound or whatever
(26:04):
you know MRI, whatever it isthat they are going to decide to
do, and then I'm going to haveto schedule another meet with my
provider, and then they'regoing to tell me what's going on
and then make a plan, right?
No, she walked into the clinic,said this is that, this is what
I'm experiencing, and here's mybreast lump and they're like,
oh, no problem, I want you towalk over to next door and like
(26:27):
the door down and go get yourscreening and let's figure it
out.
And by the time she walked outwithin an hour or two having the
exact answer, she did not havecancer and she knew exactly what
she needed to do and what tolike.
And I'm like, what?
Like how in the world did you,how?
(26:48):
How is that even humanlypossible?
There is a whole system inplace and other parts of the
world that we are we don't evenknow, and to have that for
postpartum to where you know andinsurance is like a huge
combative thing right now and ithas always been and I think
we're bringing into light likeit's so hard.
(27:08):
Right, you have to have thatreferral in order for your
insurance to pay, and thenyou've got to wait for a bit for
it to get approved, whatever,and then you go see your
provider and so just scratch allof that and just have somebody
there who understands and youcan talk to and who gets it and
every single part of your body.
Like that holistic approach.
(27:28):
That would be a dream.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
You know, I was just thinking as you're talking and
maybe I would love to hear.
Can I ask you a question?
Yes, yeah, I would love to hearyour thoughts on this.
I was literally with my twobest friends last night at, one
of whom is newly postpartum andthe other, who just had her
second baby, actually be asurrogate, so she's not
(27:52):
technically postpartum but has ahas a new baby.
And we were talking about myfriend had just finished her one
six week checkup, right, andthey know I've been working on
this for so long.
They're like you know they arevery, very informed on
everything, right, becausebecause of me.
But they were asking me they'relike.
But they were asking me they'relike.
(28:13):
They were both just like, soperplexed by the like how, how
is it possible that in thiscountry, like it's, it's
dangerous, it's dangerous whatwe're doing, as, as we know, and
I'm explaining to them like,yes, it is dangerous, like
maternal mortality rates willshow you.
But like I'm curious.
They were like why, how is itpossible that, yeah, we only
(28:37):
have one postpartum visit withour OBGYN and how is it possible
that, like, how did we get here?
How are we so different thaneverywhere else?
And I kind of have my ownanswer to that.
But like I'm really curious,because you're just so much
closer to that side of things,like how do you answer that?
I think?
Speaker 1 (28:57):
at first, we have to look at how the definition of
postpartum was developed, whichwas by a bunch of men who
claimed that the uterusreturning to its pre-pregnancy
state and the time between fromthe moment we have a baby to its
return became postpartum, toits return became postpartum.
(29:25):
And so we have to look at it, Ithink, from a patriarchal lens
honestly and say this is howthat was developed and for the
longest time, and even stilltoday, I think it's finally
shifting and changing.
But new nutrition and women'shealthcare and how women's
bodies react to certainmedications and all of that, all
of that was never done and it'sjust now starting to be done.
(29:48):
So science has always ignoredwomen because our bodies are so
much more profound and it wasalways believed that our bodies
were too difficult to studybecause of our hormone levels,
and so they just ignored it,right.
And so, even if you look atnutritional studies, they were
(30:09):
done.
You know the recommended dailyallowances and I share this
quite frequently.
These were done and developedby men.
Those were studies done on men.
And then they came together, apanel of people, also mostly men
, who just said well, we'regoing to reduce these numbers to
fit a smaller human being, ie afemale, and so that's how those
(30:32):
numbers were developed.
And then, oh, if she's pregnantor breastfeeding, we're just
going to add in a couple hundredcalories and we're going to
call it good, and that's how it,how it's been developed.
And so I think this whole ideaof postpartum care and women's
healthcare in general is justbeen run by a bunch of men who
don't know any better.
Unfortunately, and thankfully,I think that's shifting and
(30:56):
changing.
But also, you know, we look at,we look at providers.
I just did a beautiful interviewwith a doctor who works and
specializes in postpartum care.
She's kind of like shifted herher work as an OBGYN to focus
more on perinatal mental health,and this conversation that I
(31:18):
had with her and we'll link thatin the podcast, for if you
haven't listened to it was soprofound because she was like we
never got any of this.
We were never trained as anOBGYN, I was never trained on
anything outside of acutepostpartum care.
I just I'm here to make surethat you're not bleeding anymore
(31:38):
and you're on your way, andthen I have to refer you out to
a pelvic floor specialist, Ihave to refer you out to a
mental health care specialist orwhatever, because I have no
knowledge whatsoever not trainedin nutrition, not trained in
herbs, I'm not trained in pelvicfloor.
I'm not trained in anything.
And that's the same with.
(32:00):
We look at counselors right,they're not trained in anything.
Postpartum, they walk away withan entire degree, a license and
everything, not knowing a singlething about postpartum.
They have to go to a secondarylearning facility in order to
gain that knowledge.
And that's why postpartumuniversity exists, so that we
can be that bridge and be thatgap, to bridge that gap,
(32:23):
essentially for providers whonever got that training, who are
saying wait a second, there'ssomething else here that I need
to know that I'm missingsignificantly.
And so, to answer your question, I think like there is this
massive gap because nobody'stalking about it, nobody's like
it's never been important andwomen have always been deemed
(32:44):
too complicated.
And that's exactly what happenswhen we walk into an
appointment.
Right, it's like oh, it's justyour hormones, it's too
complicated.
Here's your birth control, likeI don't know it, which
translates to I have no earthlyidea how to help you.
Exactly Right, exactly, right,exactly.
That's the best I can do.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
You know we that it resonates so much because I was
going to say this before whenyou were asking about kind of
the challenges of navigating thedifferent professionals and
trying to bridge that gap, oneof the things we had exactly
that experience when we were,you know, creating Anya.
So it started with I started byjust going into women's homes
(33:26):
like doing like, like I live inNew York city and so I was just
like going to their home.
We were reading their medicinecabinet, we pulled it all out of
the bed and I'm like, okay,what?
Like first of all, sit down andtheir baby is, you know,
sitting next to them.
I'm like, talk to me Like, whatare you going through?
What are you feeling?
What's, what are you strugglingwith?
Show me what you have.
What are you using?
What's helpful to you, what'snot?
(33:47):
And then we surveyed 2000 womenacross the country and ask them
what, what, what were yourgreatest struggles?
And and so, as we're developingthese different products, the
what came to light is whatthey're, what they're
experiencing and feeling is likeexhaustion, depletion, right.
And as we're, as we'rebeginning to research, we're
(34:11):
asking them like where are you?
Where are you finding out about?
You know, where are you goingto get referrals for what you
should be taking, like are youtaking any vitamins?
Or where are you going?
And they're every 90% of womenI'm going to my OBGYN to figure
out which vitamin I should betaking.
I'm going to my OBGYN and we'relike okay, so we've got to work
(34:31):
with OBGYNs.
We we probably spoke to I thinkwe talked to like 40 OBGYNs
across the country and all ofthem told us the exact same
thing.
We went to them because we'relike we know that.
We know that your patients arecoming to you and asking you
(34:52):
during pregnancy, which vitaminshould I be taking and what
should I take after birth, andthey told us we are not trained
on nutrition, we don't knowanything about this.
They do all come to us.
I sort of skim the label andcheck for two things to just
make sure that the two that Iknow about are folate during
(35:12):
pregnancy and iron right, likethey were like or folic acid
right.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Not even folate right .
Speaker 2 (35:19):
True, true, true, true.
Most of them said pull back, sototally, and I just sort of
make sure that that's like thehigh enough, high enough levels
and and send them on their wayand they're absolutely like,
admittedly, like this is not apart of our training, it's not
something that like and theseare like new doc, new obese,
right Like, went through theirdegree at various times and we
(35:48):
were just like.
This doesn't make any sense.
The number one like trustedsource and source of truth for
new moms is not trained on thisstuff, and I know this is what
you're doing and it's so, it'sso important and so incredible.
And then then even further, likeeverything you're talking about
with the DRIs don't get mestarted.
Like the FDA actually has thesame recommended daily intake
for pregnant and post postnatalright.
(36:09):
They don't even differentiate.
So on our vitamin labels wehave to list the FDA right
requirements.
But we're using the Instituteof medicine.
We partnered with registereddietitians who told us no, no,
like, this is the gold standard,this is what you trust.
And look, the recommendedintake is different for
postnatal versus prenatal.
And so that's, this is whatwe're like, and you know, it is
(36:31):
just every step of the way.
It's like we can't even listthe right requirements on our
bottle.
We're just hoping that our youknow, we we try to give our
consumers like all of thisinformation, like, look like,
but it's, it's just, it's socomplicated because they don't
even have the right person to goto to ask for this stuff and
(36:52):
they're going to somebody whoknows nothing about it.
So I can just, it's just, it's,it's crazy, it's totally crazy.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
I can talk with you forever on this and I think
there's like a partnershiphappening here in the future.
I can feel it and I just loveeverything that you're saying
and everything that you're doingand we're just like, yes, yes,
yes.
Like if you see the video, ourheads are just shaking.
Yeah, yeah, oh, it's so funny.
(37:18):
I would love to ask one lastquestion.
Like, first off, share withpeople where they can find you,
but, moving forward, becausethere's so much work to do.
Like, what is the future ofAnya?
Like, where are you all headed?
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Well, first of all, a near future thing kind of
answers your first question.
So where can you find us?
So you can always find us onour website.
This is Anyacom, and we alsowanted to make sure that
listeners, if they areinterested in trying out Anya
and trying our products, wewould love to offer a discount
code.
So if they use the codePOSTPARTUM20, they can get 20%
(37:57):
off any products, any order.
So, please, please, do, checkus out.
We're also on Instagram atthisisanyacom.
Oh my gosh, on Instagram,thisisanya and our Instagram, I
would say, like we really do,it's probably 80 to 90%
educational content versusproducts.
So that's really what we usethat channel for, and we are
(38:19):
always in DMs and always talkingwith moms.
So, like when they write, weuse that you know that channel
for and we are always in DMs andalways talking with moms.
So, like when they write in andask us a question, like I'm,
I'm experiencing this, I'mstruggling with this.
We love that because not onlycan we pass off one of our
experts and answer theirquestion, but it also helps
inform our content and like what, what are moms really needing
and wanting from us?
(38:39):
So that's where they can findus and then, very excitingly, we
are officially launching inTarget in March, so we will be
in.
Target stores all across thecountry.
We are not in every singlestore, but we are in 300 stores
across the country, so I thinkmost people listening and
hopefully we'll be able to findus in a store near them.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
That's such a huge accomplishment, congratulations
on that.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
Thank you so much.
It really is, and you know whatLike for me.
Of course, it's a hugeaccomplishment for the business
and it's an exciting step.
It's an exciting step.
More importantly for me is thefact that mass retail is getting
on board with back to our wholeconversation around, like just
(39:28):
educating the consumer andgetting her to demand more, Like
it's coming around.
We're making a huge step in theright direction.
If mass retail feels that thereis demand out there for mom
care, mom wellness, rightPostpartum recovery, like the,
the aisle is growing andexpanding and and I'm so excited
that we're, you know, we're apart of it and it's just, it's a
(39:48):
.
It's a really big, big step.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Good for you.
This is, this is amazing.
I hope you take time tocelebrate that and, for
everybody who's listening in,we're going to include all of
those links and your discountcode, by the way.
Thank you so much for that, andthat'll all be here in the show
notes for you, Jane such apleasure, so much fun.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
I can't wait to continue this offline.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Thanks so much for being a part of this crucial
conversation.
I know you're dedicated toadvancing postpartum care and if
you're ready to dig deeper,come join us on our newsletter,
where I share exclusive insights, resources and the latest tools
to help you make a lastingimpact on postpartum health.
(40:35):
Sign up at postpartumu theletter ucom which is in the show
notes, and if you found today'sepisode valuable, please leave
a review to help us reach moreproviders like you.
Together, we're building afuture where mothers are fully
supported and thriving you.
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