As women, we often put the needs of our loved ones ahead of our own, whether it’s our children, our husbands or our parents. Unfortunately, this can have serious consequences for women’s health, as is evident from the experiences of countless women. Data also shows that gender biases have a significant impact on women’s health, making it important for us to tackle them for equitable healthcare.
It’s also worth noting here that you can only be your best self if you are in the best of health, making self-care absolutely essential for every woman. That’s the message that Tanya Julka, Head of Marketing at Roche Diagnostics India, emphasized as she shared her experience of motherhood with us.
Tanya’s First Pregnancy
Despite being Head of Marketing at Roche Diagnostics India, Tanya faced unexpected challenges during her high-risk pregnancy exacerbated by a COVID infection. When she was finally able to visit her gynecologist, sonography and other prenatal tests revealed that blood flow to her baby was reduced and she was at high risk of preeclampsia (high blood pressure in pregnancy). Yet early detection and treatment prevented further complications, ensuring a successful pregnancy.
Looking Forward
More than a year after the birth of her baby girl, Arya, after overcoming postpartum depression and returning to work, Tanya was not just thriving, but excelling. She had even earned a promotion. Tanya decided to take advantage of modern diagnostics that she had learned about from her time at Roche, opting for an AMH test that reveals your ovarian reserve or egg count, based on which you can make an informed decision whether to delay pregnancy or not. In her case, she learned that she couldn’t wait much longer.
Second Time Around
This time, the ‘high risk’ pregnancy warning did not come as a surprise and Tanya was prepared for it. Despite learning that her placenta was low she didn’t panic and decided to take control by increasing her own awareness. She learnt about prenatal screening tests, pregnancy nutrition, and other lifestyle recommendations. More importantly, she followed all of the guidance, while ignoring suggestions from random well-wishers with no medical background. Today, she is a mother to two beautiful baby girls, her second being Sarah, who was born in December 2023.
Of course, like many women, her troubles did not end with childbirth as she developed high blood pressure after the delivery and needed to undergo intense physiotherapy for months before she could be active again and truly enjoy the joys of motherhood.
The Takeaway
Tanya credits modern medicine and access to diagnostics with her health today and her two healthy girls. She hopes that her experience will inspire other women to take charge of their own health because proactive and preventive healthcare is the best way to preserve health, lower health expenses, and ensure better outcomes through early detection of diseases.
As she acknowledges, being a part of the Roche family gave her better insight into disparities in women’s health and also helped her recognize the importance of awareness and access to diagnostics for better health decisions. Roche has a strong commitment to women’s health, leading the way in diagnostic innovations that enable women in their health journeys with information that they and their clinicians need to make the best possible decisions.
While Tanya recognizes that not every woman enjoys the same support system and resources, she hopes that her story will encourage other women to learn more, to speak out about their experiences to end the stigma associated with women’s health challenges such as postpartum depression, and to normalize conversations about pregnancy care and nursing.
