Navigating mom guilt, work-life balance & 4 kids as CEO of fastest growing women’s health company

This week on Two Parents & A Podcast, happy Friday!! We have a special guest: Victoria Thain Gioia, co-founder & CEO of Perelel, Harvard MBA.. and most importantly, a working mom of 4 (ages 9, 7, 6 & 2!!) 

We start with the story behind it all: a 20-week scan that didn’t go as expected, and how obsessing over the “why” sent Victoria deep into prenatal nutrition research.. deep enough that she pitched her OB a company idea mid-appointment (from the stirrups!!) The big takeaway: one-size-fits-all doesn’t work for women. 

Then we get into the part we know you guys most want to hear: what it actually looks like to run a company with 4 kids at home. The 5am wake-ups, white-knuckling it from 7 to 7:50 every morning, the 2.5 year old who interrupts her work calls for a scheduled cuddle (we’re obsessed), and the mom guilt conversation we think every working parent needs to hear: “I’m a better mom because I work.” Plus why her answer to “is this worth it?” lives in a photo from her daughter’s school project.

We also talk about why there is NOTHING more powerful than the mom group chat (you’re not on an island, we’re all on the island together), the work-life balance advice that makes her laugh, and the realities of working motherhood. 

We finish up with the women’s health research gap: women weren’t included in clinical trials until 1993, less than 10% of funding goes to women’s health, and what Perelel is pledging to change that. Then we close with rapid fire: what every TTC couple should know, the wellness trend she wishes would die, and the thing she wishes was talked about more.

Thank you Victoria!! Hope everyone has a great weekend :-) LOVE YOU GUYS!

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Welcome back to Two Parents & A Podcast!

00:00:38 Meet Victoria: CEO, Harvard MBA & mom of 4

00:03:15 The 20-week scan that started it all

00:13:28 What the prenatal industry gets wrong

00:17:44 Making life easier for moms