We sat down with our Founder & Mom in Chief, Taraneh Shirazian, who is also a practicing Ob-Gyn at NYU and one of our top mommy role models. We chatted with Dr. Tara about her background, views on pregnancy and motherhood today, and her goals for Mommy Matters.
Before founding Mommy Matters, you started as an Ob-Gyn in New York City. What made you want to become an ob/gyn and how did that lead you to where you are now?
I had the privilege of going to medical school and being exposed to all disciples of medicine. When I was on my ob/gyn rotation, I loved the job itself- taking care of urgent and emergent issues, delivering infants, operating and counseling in the office made every day unique, and exciting. But, the best was taking care of women themselves, hearing from each woman about her health challenges and goals offered such an amazing perspective on life and health. It's a privilege to be an ob/gyn and not one I take lightly. My role is to educate, empower, and improve health outcomes.
As you continue to see patients today, what seems to be the most pressing issue pregnant women are currently facing?
Pregnancy is more perilous in the US that it has ever been before. Maternal mortality is on the rise nationally, and reproductive rights in the US are in jeopardy daily. As advocates for women and mothers, we need to demand better health care, better access, better products.
What are the common issues you see new mothers facing?
Between taking care of a newborn’s needs and taking care of herself, new moms are often not prioritized in the birth and recovery process. That’s why I founded Mommy Matters, to offer products that prioritize mom & help her through pregnancy and recovery, so she can be at her best for herself and family.
How can we all be part of the movement to address these issues?
The proceeds from Mommy Matters products go directly to our sister non-profit, Saving Mothers, an organization which offers low cost, high impact solutions to help mothers and women everywhere thrive. We can all be part of the Mommy Matters movement - to support mothers and women’s health around the globe.
Can you talk a little bit more about Saving Mothers and what inspired you to start the organization?
I have seen so much disparity in access to quality maternal health programming globally. Saving Mothers is about leveling the playing field and making sure every woman, everywhere has the right and the reality of a safe delivery and optimal healthcare. We develop low cost high impact programming for women, and train their local healthcare providers in how to develop the programs
How did creating Saving Mothers lead to the birth (no pun intended) of Mommy Matters?
Mommy Matters is about giving voice and priority to mothers locally. Product purchases support the non-profit Saving Mothers and help sustain a continuum of health for mothers and women around the globe. We should all see ourselves as part of this larger movement to support mothers and women globally.
Saving Mothers has now been around for almost 10 years and Mommy Matters just launched in May 2019. What is your hope for the future of Mommy Matters?
I hope that our product offerings will continue to grow and expand to all areas of women’s health and that its success will allow our non-profit work to grow and expand to reach even more underserved women both here in the US and globally.
