The Womens Wellness Show

Dr Sula Windgassen.  PhD researcher with over 30 published academic papers. An honorary researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience holds five degrees, from King’s College London and the University of Leeds, and is currently conducting research with both King’s and University College London.

Chartered Health Psychologist & Mindfulness Practitioner. 

Author of It’s All In Your Body. 

Dr Sula on Instagram

Dr Sula on Linkedin

Dr Sula's book It's All In Your Body on Amazon

In this episode, we explore the intersection of chronic illness, stress, identity, and women’s health advocacy.

We begin with Sula's health story which was recently featured in the Daily Mail and unpack how chronic pain and stress often collide for women who are used to putting everyone else first. We discuss why stress can feel invisible or “normalised,” what the nervous system and allostatic load actually mean, and how chronic stress can quietly drive pain and long-term health issues.

A major theme of the conversation is medical dismissal. Many women begin questioning their own symptoms after not feeling heard by healthcare professionals. We talk about validation, self-trust, and advice for anyone currently navigating a diagnostic journey, as well as how partners, friends, and family members can better support someone advocating for their health.

We also dive into the complex relationship between identity, achievement, and illness including the challenge of slowing down when your self-worth has been tied to productivity, exercise, or performance, and how to balance mental wellbeing, financial reality, and a temporarily reduced stress tolerance.

Community emerges as a powerful healing tool. We explore the role of in-person connection, how to find supportive spaces without traditional “networking,” and what an ideal one-day women’s health experience could look like.

From there, the conversation shifts to innovation and fundraising in women’s health. Drawing on experience building a large women’s health community and working closely with hundreds of clients, we discuss the gap between real patient experiences and the narratives often reflected in startup funding announcements — and what needs to change in the ecosystem.

We also touch on Sula's work with Seemira and her broader perspective on the future of health psychology and women’s health innovation.

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Leo and Zahra discuss the CensHership campaign.

Dr Zahra substack

https://drzahra.substack.com/

Reports / papers 

https://www.censhership.co.uk/

https://www.censhership.co.uk/white-paper 

Key Findings of this whitepaper:

• 95% of women's health creators surveyed in 2024-25 reported censorship on platforms including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, Google, Amazon, YouTube, Pinterest and Linkedln.
• Self-censorship is widespread, with over half of respondents altering their language or imagery to avoid takedowns — reinforcing stigma and limiting public understanding.
• Platform moderation systems are inconsistent, opaque and biased, disproportionately penalising women's health content while allowing equivalent male health content.
• The consequences are economic, social, and public health-related. Startups report losing revenue, credibility, and reach; public access to vital health information is being obstructed; and deep-rooted taboos are being inadvertently reinforced by tech.

References to other things that we discussed:

https://www.talkswithdrsesay.com/

https://www.instagram.com/drnighatarif/?hl=en

https://thelowdown.com/

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How can nutritionists/ dietitians be using AI more effectively to support their coaching and businesses? Rohini and Leo - we could share some examples from our own work

How effective are current AI tools? How they may evolve in the future. 

AI + tailored nutrition and lifestyle advice when it comes to women’s health conditions like endo, PCOS etc. 

What about the role of compassion, empathy, human connection, and emotional intelligence which distinguishes the best coaches/ nutritionists etc in the field? 

The benefits of growing a personal brand / social media following:

-Was that a strategic goal for you as part of your career or just something that -happened by default 

-Has it been valuable and resulted in new opportunities 

-How did you build your following, get PR opportunities etc

About Rohini Bajekal, Nutritionist and Board-Certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional

Rohini Bajekal (MA Oxon, MSc Nutrition and Food Sciences, Dip IBLM) is a nutritionist and board-certified Lifestyle Medicine professional. Prior to becoming a nutritionist, she studied Theology at Oxford University. Having previously worked in India and Singapore, Rohini is now based in London where she provides evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle advice to clients around the world. She is a Menopause Nutritionist and Lifestyle Medicine Professional at Menopause Care, the UK's leading provider in online menopause support. Rohini is an advisor to Solence, a French app designed to support women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which recently secured €1.6 million in a seed funding round.

Rohini co-authored her first book Living PCOS Free: How to Regain Your Hormonal Health with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome which was published in April 2022. She also wrote the chapter on lifestyle medicine for the book How To Go Plant-Based: A Definitive Guide For You and Your Family by Ella Mills, founder of Deliciously Ella.

Rohini regularly comments in the media with a focus on myth-busting around nutrition. She has been featured in publications such as Vogue, The Independent, SheerLuxe, Cosmopolitan and Women's Health. 

Find out more about Rohini at rohinibajekal.com and follow her on Instagram @rohinibajekal or daily tips on healthy living. She has a Substack newsletter called Full of Beans where she shares more top tips and insights around healthy living. 

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Hosted by Dr Frances OBGYN, hear 3 women's journeys personally and professionally with miscarriages, IVF and egg freezing.

Organisations doing amazing work in this space:

Fertility Matters at Work - Provides training on fertility support to employers + ‘Fertility Friendly’ accreditation- https://fertilitymattersatwork.com/ 

Nickie Aiken, MP - brought forward legislation via a Private Members' Bill which if passed by Parliament would give those going through IVF treatment the right to paid leave for medical appointments. https://www.nickieaiken.org.uk/campaigns/nickies-proposed-law-improve-ivf-support

Miscarriage Association - ‘Leave for Every Loss’ campaign - parliamentary bill to grant bereavement leave to individuals who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks gestation https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/get-involved/leave-for-every-loss/

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Rhiannon is a futurist specialising in women’s health. As the former Co-founder of Ultra Violet, the only Women's Health, Wellness and FemTech trend forecasters, she is uniquely positioned to analyse the data and set predictions on future consumer trends in the women’s health space.

We talk about where this increase in discussing and promoting women’s health has come from. 

The dark side of companies using it as a marketing trend. 

The role of AI in progressing women’s health and much more! 

Rhiannon's Linkedin

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhiannon-jones-futureforecaster/ 
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/ultra-violet-agency/about/ 

Nexus online nutrition coaching link: https://form.typeform.com/to/umRWcJj4   

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Victoria is a good friend and was my client a few years back when we worked together to get her menstrual cycle back. In this episode, Victoria talks about how her disordered relationship with food, body image and exercise left her with some health issues and concerns including losing her menstrual cycle. We talked about what led her to end up in that situation when she realised enough was enough and how we worked together to get her health back. If this story sounds similar to yours then please feel free to reach out, we’re always here to help, support and guide.

Find Victoria HERE: https://www.instagram.com/vicsmart/?hl=en

Nexus Online Nutrition Coaching: https://form.typeform.com/to/umRWcJj4  

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Dr Clare is the chief medical officer for the BBC!

Clare Fernandes qualified from University College London with multiple university and national academic and non academic prizes.

She has gone on to obtain numerous post graduate prizes, notably the Faculty of Occupational Medicine's Mobbs Fellowship and the Medical Women's Federation International Fellowship.

She has a Masters in Occupational Medicine, graduating with a distinction, and is an Associate Specialist in Occupational Medicine.

She wrote the book 'Questions and Answers for the Diploma in Occupational Medicine', which has previously been nominated for a BMJ Book Award.

She is the joint founder and director of the Occupational Health Academy, a learning academy for aspiring Occupational Medicine doctors.

Clare is currently the CMO at the BBC and occupational health physician in Central London

Nexus online nutrition coaching link. https://form.typeform.com/to/umRWcJj4 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-clare-fernandes-mfom-4685b3176/ 

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Luce specialises in creating inclusive and high performing businesses via supporting women’s wellbeing in the workplace. We speak about why companies don’t currently have infrastructure in place to properly support women’s unique differences, how you can change this and why companies that don’t will be left behind!

Hint - it’s actually more profitable to do so anyway!

Luce also talks about her own journey with an endometriosis diagnosis and how that led her to become more passionate about supporting women in career success. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/luce-grover/ 

Nexus online nutrition coaching link. https://form.typeform.com/to/umRWcJj4  

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Nexus online nutrition coaching link. https://form.typeform.com/to/umRWcJj4 

Karli is pioneering europe's first menstrual blood blank. There is virtually no research done on menstrual blood and that’s a problem! It could unlock so many secrets about women's health, potentially lead to earlier diagnosis of endometriosis and certain cancers as well as potentially removing the need for a smear test. This is a fascinating area of research and I'm personally so excited to watch Karli’s work and research unfold over the next few years and beyond.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlibuchling/ 

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Nexus online nutrition coaching link. https://form.typeform.com/to/umRWcJj4  

Dr Michelle is the Women's Health Advisor to Holland+ Barrett, the Women's Health Columnist for BBC Science Focus and is on the scientific advisory board for Clue.

She has a bachelors of medicine and a bachelors of surgery from Cambridge university. 

We talk about the history of why there’s a gender health, research and pain gap. The current landscape, work that’s being done and what isn’t but needs to be done.

Michelle also explains how to stay curious and be your own scientist, the importance of menstrual cycle tracking and answers all your questions around how.

You can read Dr Michelles articles here.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/author/dr-michelle-griffin 

You can find her on Linkedin here.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-michelle-griffin-8204a122/ 

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