1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss. There are 23 million miscarriages worldwide, every year. Yet, there is a culture of silence and secrecy around this. The Woman’s Company, in collaboration with Facebook, have come together to raise awareness, offer support and start a conversation about Pregnancy Loss.
The Woman’s Company, together with Facebook Creative Shop and Play Communications, has launched ‘The Compassionate Pad,’ the world’s first pad designed for women suffering from pregnancy loss. In tandem, the pad also provides access to a messaging Bot – ‘TENDER.’ Tender, a compassionate, virtual friend, connects women experiencing this inexplicable loss (and the people supporting her) to a qualified panel of specialists like gynecologists, counsellors, doulas, fitness and nutrition professionals to get expert guidance and support. Via Tender, women can also access stories of women in the community who have experienced pregnancy loss and hear from them how they coped with it. The resources include fact-checked and verified information, advice and community support all via the touch of a button, in a completely safe and confidential format.
People can connect to the Tender Bot via Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp (coming soon) Facebook, Instagram, The Woman’s Company website and from the packaging of the ‘Compassionate Pad’ itself, via a dynamic QR code. When it comes to sensitive topics, using messaging technology is an important step towards digital inclusion and access to accurate information by connecting communities to resources.
The Compassionate Pad by The Woman’s Company is the world’s first sanitary pad designed keeping in mind the needs of women going through pregnancy and baby loss. The Pad is an extra-long, biodegradable pad which has multiple layers for additional absorbency, made of super-soft cotton, and ergonomically designed. It is the newest addition to the product line currently offered by The Woman’s Company.
The customised product and the Tender bot are supplemented by a Facebook and Instagram ad campaign featuring women sharing their experiences to help break the silence and raise awareness about the services and support that are available to women going through this loss.
The Woman’s Company offers an array of products ranging from sanitary napkins, panty liners, 100% organic cotton tampons, stand & pee urination devices, medical grade silicone cups and bamboo razors. All its products are organic, biodegradable and environment friendly.
Anika Parashar founded the brand in March 2020 with Roopam Gupta in order to produce and deliver tailor-made intimate wellness and hygiene products for today’s women. These are customized to embrace the changing phases of women’s bodies, as well as being environmentally conscious. The Woman’s Company is not just an FMCG company – it is also a healthcare platform for women led by women, with decades of experience in healthcare and retail.
Says Parashar, “Pregnancy Loss is not talked about enough. It is a fact that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss, around the world. Given that so many women experience this at some point in their lifetimes and yet there is unaddressed grief, pain and lack of acknowledgement, is extremely concerning. In coming together with Facebook, we are trying to give all of those women a voice and saying to them – ‘We see you. We see your pain and we acknowledge it in the small way we can.”
This collaboration with Facebook resulted when the multinational technology company was looking to partner with a company that considered women and their needs as its top priority. The Woman’s Company is not only woman-led – key team members have also experienced pregnancy loss. The Company’s robust engagement platform for women, extensive background in healthcare and proven experience in dealing with sensitive issues made it an ideal match for the collaboration with Facebook. The decision to launch the initiative in India stemmed from the fact that Indian women are more prone to pregnancy loss and the number tripled during the pandemic, but communication and dialogue about the subject is severely lacking.
Sanover Srivastav & Divya Nailwal (Co-founders of PLAY and Creative Strategists for The Woman’s Company) commented, “When we got the opportunity to work on the Compassionate Pad, we knew that the compassion needs to come right from the product’s packaging as that will be this woman’s first exposure to the product. So, we created unique packaging that would connect with her at an emotional level, with every pad change and then lead her on to TENDER, the compassionate chatbot.”
Caitlin Ryan (Vice President of Facebook Creative Shop EMEA) said, “The Compassionate Pad is an inspiring example of how our platforms can connect people and businesses and marketing can demonstrate the humanity of business. It shows a shift towards brands behaving as social actors that can deliver value to the communities they serve. In the case of The Compassionate Pad, we hope to see this turn into an industry blueprint for all types of hygiene female brands – as the topic of pregnancy and infant loss knows no borders, and people around the world go through it with little to no access to fact-checked information or support.”
The Compassionate Pad is available on:
Compassionate Pads
The Woman’s Company
https://www.thewomanscompany.com/pages/compassionate-pad
