What Living With Endometriosis Taught Me About Women’s HealthBlush & Bloom Podcast | Episode 18

Gigi
Oct 16
3 min read

In this episode of Blush and Bloom, I sit down with Rebekah Lloyd, founder of Rela Health, to talk about her decade-long journey with endometriosis, what she’s learned from living with chronic pain, and how she turned that experience into a career shaping the future of women’s health.

Rebekah’s story is one of persistence, reinvention, and purpose. After more than ten years of navigating misdiagnoses and dismissal, she’s now one of the leading voices in women’s health innovation — helping startups, founders, and researchers transform their ideas into products that make real impact.

From Patient to Founder

Rebekah’s journey into women’s health began with her own diagnosis story.

After years of chronic pain, she was finally diagnosed with endometriosis — a condition that affects one in ten women worldwide but often takes years to identify.

At the time, she was running a London marketing agency, thriving professionally but struggling personally. She admits she had “completely normalised” her pain, thinking it was just something she had to live with.

Her turning point came when she realised that support, both emotional and medical, wasn’t just helpful — it was essential. That realisation planted the seed for what would later become Rela Health, her consultancy that bridges the gap between innovation and impact in women’s health.

Creating Rela Health

Rela Health was born out of Rebekah’s frustration with how women’s health issues were sidelined.She had spent over 15 years working across the NHS, pharmaceuticals, and healthtech, yet had never once worked on a women’s health product.

That question — “Why not?” — sparked a complete career pivot. Through Rela Health, Rebekah now helps founders, researchers, and startups navigate go-to-market strategies, funding challenges, and stakeholder engagement, all while keeping patient needs at the centre.

Her consultancy supports innovators across women’s health, healthtech, and medtech, offering both strategic advisory and marketing guidance.

Visit 👉 relahealth.co

The Women’s Health Expert in Residence at Imperial College London

Rebekah also serves as the first and only (as of 2025) Women’s Health Expert in Residence at Imperial College London, one of the world’s leading academic institutions.

In this role, she mentors student founders and researchers developing early-stage innovations in health. Her focus is on helping them translate research into real-world solutions — whether that’s digital tools, diagnostic devices, or educational platforms that improve health outcomes for women.

Pinkwashing, Funding, and the Need for Real Change

In the episode, Rebekah doesn’t shy away from calling out pinkwashing — when companies use the language of empowerment or women’s health to market products that don’t meaningfully address women’s needs.

“There are people using the label femtech just because it sounds good,” she says. “But genuine innovation comes from having the data, the research, and the lived experience to back it up.”

She also highlights the persistent funding gap in women’s health: only about 2% of global venture capital goes to female founders, and even less to femtech companies.

Without funding, there’s no research. And without research, there’s no innovation.That’s the cycle she’s determined to break.

The Role of AI in Femtech

We also talk about the growing role of AI in women’s health.

Rebekah believes AI can be a powerful tool — especially for early-stage teams that need to work efficiently — but warns against using it just for the sake of it.

“If it makes your process faster, improves accuracy, or helps you reach more people — great. But it should always have intention behind it,” she says.

Her message is clear: technology should amplify human understanding, not replace it.

Done Is Better Than Perfect

When asked what advice she’d give to founders just starting out, Rebekah doesn’t hesitate:

“Done is better than perfect. You can always iterate, but you can’t grow what you never release.”

She admits she’s rewritten her website and LinkedIn posts countless times — but what matters most is progress, not perfection.

For women founders navigating healthtech or femtech, that mindset can make the difference between an idea that stays in your head and a product that changes lives.