Period Story

For many entrepreneurs, a personal experience provides to inspiration to start a business. This is certainly true for Jo Barry, the inventor of Rae, an award winning wireless portable heating pad and the founder and CEO of Scarlet, a period care company,  who I speak to on today’s episode of Period Story.  In this episode, Jo shares:  How difficult her periods were from the very beg...

On this episode of Period Story, I speak to Dr Sula Windgassen, the health psychologist and author of the book It’s All In Your Body .  In this episode, Dr Sula shares:  Why getting told the issues you’re experiencing are ‘all in your head’ inhibits healing and fosters a message of distrust, isolation and disconnection Why categorising psychology as woo woo can preclude so many people th...

Did you know that 90% of venture capitalist investors are men? On this episode of Period Story, I talk to Marina Gerner, the journalist and author of The Vagina Business about innovation in femtech and the vagina-centric space.  In this episode, Marina shares:  How a viral article in Wired magazine led to her writing her book The Vagina Business  The pushback she received about the...

What would you do if your period was so painful that you would faint when you were on the toilet? This was the dilemma Lexi Elven, my guest on today’s episode of Period Story faced for 8 years. In this episode, Lexi shares:  Why she turned to Reddit to help her understand why she was in so much pain that she would faint during the first two days of her period The phrase two GPs on an endometr...

Would it surprise you to hear that menstruation can be a great time for detail oriented work, and for making great decisions? On this week’s episode of Period Story, I speak to Maggie McDaris, the CEO and co-founder of Phase, a company that helps women align their work with their menstrual cycle. In this episode, Maggie shares: The story of her postpartum adenomyosis diagnosis and what she does to...

Menopause is big news right now and rightfully so. But with all the noise, how do you know what’s right for you? On this week’s episode of Period Story, I’m joined by Dr Claire Phipps, the Menopause GP, who talks me through common perimenopause and menopause myths and misconceptions.  In this episode, Dr Claire shares:  Why she’s only just understanding her menstrual cycle at 48 Why empa...

Did you know that 700,000 panty liners, 2.5 million tampons and 1.4 million pads are flushed down the toilet everyday in the UK? Martha Silcott is the inventor of two products that aim to reduce the impact of disposable personal care waste: FabLittleBag and HyGeeni. This was a perfect week to release this episode of Period Story with a fellow Arsenal fan (#coyg!) In this episode, Martha shares:&nb...

Did you know that your nervous system can have an impact on your experience of menstruation? I get into all of this and more on today’s episode of Period Story with Amy Gaston, the president of OhmBody , a drug-free wearable device designed to work with the body’s nervous system to naturally support lighter, shorter, more comfortable periods. In this episode, Amy shares:  The impact of growin...

We’ve got a corker for you today! I’m so pleased to share my conversation with Dr Sarah Hill, the author of the books How The Pill Changes Everything: Your Brain on Birth Control and The Period Brain: The New Science of the Luteal Phase and How To Thrive Through It on today’s episode of Period Story.  In this episode, Dr Sarah shares:  Why her experience as a psychologist led her to writ...

I’m so happy to kick off season 12 of the Period Story podcast with Neelam Heera-Shergill, the CEO of Cysters, an award winning charity working at the intersection of reproductive justice, racial justice and health equity.  In this episode, Neelam shares: The three biggest signs that her mum spotted that told her that Neelam might have PCOS The flippant comment her university GP made left her...

Our skin is our biggest organ and what we put on it can have ramifications for different aspects of our health. If you’re thinking more about the impact of the makeup, skincare and personal care products you use, my guest on today’s episode of Period Story shares a lot of great information. Sjaniël Turrell is a holistic makeup artist, nutritional therapist and conscious consultant who focuses on a...

How do you navigate a career as a corporate lawyer while also coping with severe insomnia, severe brain fog, feeling disconnected from your body and dealing with medical gaslighting? I get into this and more on this week’s episode of Period Story, Sonja Rincón, the founder and CEO of Menotracker, an AI-powered menopause app that transforms symptoms into personalised insights and support.  In...

On this week’s episode of Period Story, I had the pleasure of speaking to Ruby Raut, a Nepali-born environmentalist and the co-founder and CEO of WUKA , the UK’s first reusable period underwear brand.  In this episode, Ruby shares: How she ended up using reusable period products from her very first period  The impact of the Nepalese practice of chhaupadi and how she felt treated almost l...

What happens when you’ve been gaslit by the medical system for 10 years? This is what I explore in my conversation with Eshani Kaushal, ex corporate and tech lawyer turned entrepreneur, and the founder of Moodee — the GCC’s first period care and hormone health platform.  In this episode, Eshani shares: Why it took her over 10 years after being diagnosed with fibroids to have them properly dea...

I really admire the tenacity of my guest on today’s episode of Period Story. I speak with Nora Cavani, a molecular biologist with a background in pharmaceutical engineering, an award winning gut health expert and founder and CEO of Alba Health, a company on a mission to prevent chronic diseases through gut health science. In this episode, Nora shares:  What happened to destroy the credibility...

I had such a fangirl moment on today’s episode of Period Story! I speak with Alanna Collen, a science writer, biologist and author of  10% Human: How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness . Her book inspired much of my interest in gut health, so it was a thrill to speak to her for the podcast.  In this episode, Alanna shares:  The vasovagal events that made her p...

On today’s episode of Period Story, I speak with Kate Smith, the CEO and co-founder of Hey Girls CIC, a multi-award-winning social enterprise dedicated to ending period poverty in the UK. In this episode, Kate shares:  How she went from looking forward to her first period to feeling overwhelmed by shame once it arrived  How her experience of teaching menstrual education has helped her fe...

Season 11 of the podcast is here! I’m excited to share that my guest for episode 100 (!!!) of the podcast is Dija Ayodele, the acclaimed skin care expert, entrepreneur, founder of the award winning Black Skin Directory , author of the global bestselling Black Skin - The Definitive Skincare Guide and co-founder of CLICKED! , a confidence boosting AI powered skin health tool built to make skincare l...

For the final episode of season 10 of Period Story podcast, I’m so happy to share my conversation with Dr Juliet McGrattan, an international speaker, award winning author, educator and running expert.  In this episode, Dr Juliet shares:  Her experience of perimenopause and why she’s happy not to know when she goes through the day of menopause  Why imposter syndrome and anxiety were...

I’m really happy to share my conversation with Lily Silverton, the writer, columnist, speaker, coach and founder of The Priorities Method Journal on today’s episode of Period Story podcast.  In this episode, Lily shares:  The joy of getting her period back after losing it for two years as a teenager Her struggle with disordered eating and depression and how a trip to an ashram helped her...

I’m really happy to speak to Seetal Savla, a fertility patient advocate, writer and speaker on today’s episode of Period Story podcast.  In this episode, Seetal shares:  Why she still struggles when her period arrives each menstrual month Her work around challenging fertility, menstrual and menopause stigma in the South Asian community  A few sentences to relay when dealing with ove...

’m so pleased to speak to Dr Joyce Omatseye, a UK-based medical doctor, health advocate and digital health innovator on today’s episode of Period Story podcast.  In this episode, Dr Joyce shares:  Why it’s important that both girls and boys are educated about periods Cultural differences around talking about menstrual health between the UK and Nigeria What led to her launching her health...

I’m so pleased to speak to Nahid de Belgeonne, the nervous system whisperer, one of the OGs in London wellness and author of the book Soothe: the book your nervous system has been longing for on today’s episode of Period Story podcast.  In this episode, Nahid shares:  Why she hated her periods and found them a complete inconvenience  How finding a healthier relationship with her bod...

I’m so pleased to speak to Donna Dia, the founder of the Beauty Beat, the UK’s only luxury beauty event for women of colour on today's episode of Period Story podcast.  In this episode, Donna shares:  Why having a very light period and being able to wear white jeans isn’t always a good thing  How a thin uterine lining led to fertility complications  How a routine D&C after...

I’m so pleased to speak to Jen Moore, a medical campaigner and author of the new book, Endometriosis: Understand your symptoms, Get the right treatment, Reclaim your life on today's episode of Period Story podcast. In this episode, Jen shares:  Why it took 22 years to finally get an endometriosis diagnosis  How a failed surgery led to her groundbreaking medical gaslighting campaign They...