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The Kitchen Sponge

The Kitchen Sponge

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About this listen

 In this episode of The Fifth Wave, Avis Favaro shows us the quiet crisis in women’s health. Underfunded research. Outdated medical devices. And training tools that are so inadequate, they border on the unbelievable - like teaching perineal suturing on a sponge. Through conversations with innovators reshaping Femtech and reproductive health, including Christine Goudie of Granville Biomedical, Rashmi Prakash of Aruna Revolution and Rachel Bartholomew of HighIvy Health, we explore why women continue to be left behind in medical research, product design and clinical training.

From pacemakers never tested on women, to menstrual products dismissed as “niche” , this episode shines a light on systemic biases and barriers. And it highlights the entrepreneurs who are fighting to build a healthcare system where women are finally prioritized.

Key Takeways:
  • Women’s health is dangerously under researched. Diseases affecting men receive double the funding. Many medical devices, from pacemakers to pelvic tools, were developed without accounting for women’s bodies.
  • Outdated and inadequate training harms patient safety. Medical residents have long been trained using sponges, fruit or cow tongues, leaving them unprepared for real procedures on women’s bodies.
  • Femtech leaders are rewriting the system from the ground up. Innovators like Goudrie, Prakash and Bartholomew are creating accurate anatomical models, rethinking menstrual care and driving policy advocacy.

The thing you NEED to know:
Women make up 50% of the population, yet are still excluded from medical studies, device testing, funding priorities and even basic clinical training. The consequences are harming real women every day. Change starts with education, advocacy and refusing to accept that “This is the way we’ve always done it.”

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Guest Info/CTAs/Resources (pertaining to the episode):
  • Christine Goudie, Co founder and CEO, Granville Biomedical: LinkedIn Profile
  • Rashmi Prakash, CEO Aruna Revolution: LinkedIn Profile
  • Rachel Bartholomew, founder and CEO, HighIvy Health, Femtech Canada and Femtech Across Borders: LinkedIn Profile
  • Jennifer Gillivan, President and CEO of the IWK Foundation: LinkedIn Profile
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