Entrepreneur
Why breast milk deserves a place in the femtech conversation
By Tirza Jova, Founder & CEO, Milk by Mom
Planning my first cross-country trip as a new mom, I pictured the airport obstacle course: hard cooler, melting ice packs, and the dread that one delay could undo weeks of effort. Then I discovered freeze-drying my breast milk.
We live in a world with autonomous cars and AI copilots, yet moving a few pouches of frozen milk can still derail a day.
That moment pushed me to build Milk by Mom, a service that freeze-dries moms’ expressed milk into a shelf-stable powder.
The goal with freeze-drying is simple: let families carry their “liquid gold” without the cold chain or the constant worry.
If you haven’t heard of freeze-drying breast milk, you’re not alone.
So many moms I meet—too many—say the same thing: “I’ve never even heard of this!” And yet, it can be a game-changer.
The process gently removes moisture from frozen breast milk in a vacuum, turning it into a powder while preserving its nutrients, immune properties, and flavor.
Once freeze-dried, it becomes shelf-stable for up to 3 years and is easily rehydrated with water.
It’s breast milk in a form made for today’s everyday life, without the refrigeration or ice packs.
And that kind of flexibility is essential. Because while the science of breastfeeding is ancient, the reality of parenting today is anything but.
Our infrastructure is failing families, especially breastfeeding moms.
While we’ve made strides with pumps and storage, modern life has outpaced our tools.
Today’s parents are mobile, caregiving is shared, private pumping spaces are rare, and the result is stress, wasted milk, and feeding plans cut short.
Too many families give up on a plan they genuinely want to keep. If femtech exists to close the gap between what health requires and what life allows, breastfeeding belongs squarely on the roadmap.
For many mothers, the desire to continue breastfeeding comes from knowing it supports their baby’s immune system, digestion, and bonding. Yet everyday hurdles, like return-to-office mandates or lack of privacy, often force early weaning. That’s where femtech can help by meeting families where they are, with tools that flex to real life.
Tirza Jova
Freeze-dried milk offers a third path besides fresh milk and formula. It’s portable, mess-free, and lets moms feed their babies on their own terms.
For commuting, traveling, or moms simply trying to get through a meeting without skipping a pumping session, it changes the game.
Freeze-dried breast milk powder packs small, mixes on demand, and gives caregivers confidence without a freezer.
For investors, this is an opportunity hiding in plain sight.
The postpartum market is immediate, recurring, and driven by caregivers who advocate fiercely for safety and quality. It’s not only about selling directly to consumers.
The most meaningful growth will come through partnerships with employers, healthcare systems, and community networks.
Equity matters here, too. Support and access aren’t universal.
If innovations only reach those with resources, we widen the gap instead of closing it.
That’s why solutions must be practical, affordable, and rooted in lived experience. And that starts with funding more female founders who’ve walked the journey themselves.
Policymakers also have a role. Align regulations with real-world conditions: power outages, return-to-office policies, split households.
Make lactation support a right, not a privilege. Fund research, increase awareness, and normalize flexibility.
Supporting breastfeeding more effectively could prevent nearly 600,000 infant deaths and save billions in global health costs. It improves maternal mental health, reduces pediatric illness, and strengthens families.
Every safe container, private room, and freeze-drying option is a step toward feeding freedom.
Parents need support they can trust. That means clear, evidence-based guidance and real options that work in everyday life.
We shouldn’t force families to choose between what’s ideal and what’s doable.
It’s time to bring breast milk fully into the femtech conversation—with the same urgency, innovation, and empathy we already extend to fertility, birth, and beyond.
Entrepreneur
Last chance to save on Women’s Health Week and Women’s Sport Summit: Early Bird pricing ends 11 September
Early bird pricing for W Group’s two flagship October summits – Women’s Health Week Europe 2026 and Women’s Sport Summit Europe 2026 – closes on 11 September.
Both events take place at Emirates Stadium, London, bringing together founders, investors, corporates, and industry leaders shaping the future of women’s health and sport.
Women’s Health Week Europe 2026
7-8 October | Emirates Stadium, London
This year’s edition will be Women’s Health Week Europe biggest one yet: with 700+ attendees, 80+ speakers, and 20+ sponsors, it will also feature two stages – a Global Stage covering market trends and policy, and a Scale Stage focused on company-level growth and commercialisation. WHW takes place across two days of content, business matchmaking, and dealmaking.
Agenda highlights include:
- Where Capital Flows: Funding Trends in Women’s Health – with Merete Clausen (EIF), Ekaterina Gianelli (Calm/Storm), Henriette Hessen (Verdane), Jemma Day (British Business Bank), Ravit Warsha Dor (Telus Global Ventures), Tim Davis (LSEG)
- Six Feet Under-funded: Surviving the Valley of Death in Women’s Health – with Patric Stenberg (Gesynta Pharma), Valentina Milanova (Daye), Amber Vodegel (28x)
- The Women’s Health Label – Gift or Curse? · Live Debate – with Juan Camilo Arjona Ferreira (organon), Marissa Fayer (DeepLook Medical), Christian Lautner (Heal Capital), Annie Theriault (CBIV), Ida Tin (Clue)
- Passport to Scale: Taking Your Women’s Health Business Global – with Vanessa Carpenter (Femtech Across Borders), Annie Theriault (CBIV), Victorine Lançon (Daya Ventures), Dr Mridula Pore (Peppy)
Early bird pricing (ends 11 September):
| Ticket type | Early bird | Standard |
| Startups, Scaleups, Investors, Non-Profits, Government | £599 + VAT | £699 + VAT |
| Corporates, Payors & Providers | £1,799 + VAT | £1,999 + VAT |
| Service Providers & Consultants | £3,299 + VAT | £3,499 + VAT |
Register for Women’s Health Week Europe | See the full agenda for WHW
Women’s Sport Summit Europe 2026
6 October | Emirates Stadium, London
The first-ever Women’s Sport Summit expands W Group’s expertise in connecting key decision-makers to the sports industry.
WSS brings together rights holders, brands, investors, athletes, and media to accelerate commercial growth across the sector.
Agenda highlights include:
- From capital to crowd: the women’s sport cycle at scale – with Omar Shaikh (Arsenal FC), Nicole McWilliams (Google), Kerstin Lutz (Mercury13), Jo Currie (BBC Sport)
- Women’s sport through the investor lens: what gets funded – and why – Hugo Sever (APEX Capital)
- Rethinking ROI: what are we measuring that doesn’t actually matter? – Fi Watherston (Metro Bank), Silvia Keiser (Billie Jean King Cup), Gabriel Akin-Odujobi (Crux Football), Tammy Parlour (WST)
- Beyond the 90 minutes: matchday as a commercial product, not just a fixture – Maggie Murphy (Aston Villa Women FC), Sam Feasey (Diageo/Guinness), Molly Miller (OneFootball), Megan Feringa (The Athletic/The New York Times)
Early bird pricing (ends 11 September):
| Ticket type | Early bird | Standard |
| General Pass | £299 + VAT | £399 + VAT |
| Service Providers & Consultants | £1,799 + VAT | £1,999 + VAT |
Register for Women’s Sport Summit Europe | See the full agenda for WSS
Attending both events?
For group tickets or to attend both summits this October, contact Callum, W Group’s Client Success Lead, at [email protected].
KOVE Medical has raised €1.7 million to support first-in-human studies of an implantable device designed to reduce preterm birth risk after foetal surgery.
The University of Zurich spin-off is developing a device designed to close defects left by surgical instruments following fetoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure performed inside the womb.
Fetoscopies can treat life-threatening conditions before birth but require surgical instruments to pass through the uterine wall and amniotic sac.
This can weaken the protective membrane, causing fluid leakage or rupture and often leading to preterm birth.
KOVE Medical said in a statement on LinkedIn: “This is a crucial step forward for our company, and we are incredibly grateful for the strong support and trust from our syndicate of visionary angel investors.”
KOVE Medical says its device closes the defect at the end of the procedure, stabilising the membrane and preventing complications. The aim is to make in-utero interventions safe enough to become a standard method of care.
The company plans to use the seed funding to reach first-in-human studies, a key milestone for a medical device seeking regulatory approval.
The CHF1.6m round was backed by a syndicate of angel investors.
The Women’s Health Innovation Summit (WHIS), the event uniting the global women’s health ecosystem, has just announced 18 new speakers joining the agenda for its 2026 summit, taking place October 13–15 at Encore Boston Harbor.
The latest additions bring further depth across pharma, clinical research, health systems, venture, and policy, reinforcing WHIS’s role as the only platform where the full women’s health ecosystem convenes under one roof.
Newly confirmed speakers include:
- Kelle Moley, MD – VP, Women’s Health Early Phase Clinical Development, Cardiometabolic Research, Eli Lilly & Company
- Justine Levin-Allerhand – Executive Partner, Chief Corporate Development Officer & COO, Flagship Labs, Flagship Pioneering
- Sebnem Yildirimoglu, MD, PMP – Executive Director, Women’s Health Strategy, Premier Research
- Terri Stewart – Head of Global Healthcare & Government Affairs, EMD Serono
- Dr. Morag Grassie – Executive Director, Blavatnik Fund for Innovation, Yale
- Sandra Butler – Director, Design Impact, Mass General Brigham
- Zhenya Lindgardt – Chief Executive Officer, Sera Prognostics
- Sadie Morahan – Head of US Revenue, Withings Health Solutions
- Angela Drew, PhD – Vice President, Regulatory Strategy, Premier Research
- Dr. Stephanie Lahr – CMIO, Aqurio
- Michelle Andrews – Contributing Writer, KFF Health News
- Charlotte Williams – CEO, My Bump Hub
- Clint Dart, MS – Director, NIH Women’s Health Data Coordinating Center, Premier Research
- Cass Sanford – US Venture Advisor, FemTech Lab
- Megan Mukuria – Founder & CEO, ZanaAfrica
- Tiffany Inglis, MD, FACOG – Chief Medical Officer, Sera Prognostics
- Angelean Hendrix, PhD – Vice President, Pharmacometrics and MIDD, Premier Research
- Amanda Ducach – CEO & Co-founder, EmaEQ
“WHIS is where the women’s health industry comes together to take action,” said Poppy Howard-Wall, Event Director at WHIS.
“This latest wave of speakers reflects exactly the kind of cross-sector expertise our attendees expect – from global pharma and clinical research leadership to venture, health systems, and grassroots innovation.
“It’s this breadth that makes WHIS the room where things actually move forward.”
Bringing the Full Ecosystem Together
These additions join a growing 2026 agenda spanning four content tracks that reflect the full lifecycle of healthcare innovation, from early-stage research and development through to patient delivery, system transformation, and commercial scale.
Attendees can expect over 1,000 senior decision-makers, 120+ expert speakers, four dedicated stages, and more than 10 hours of curated 1:1 meetings.
Full speaker and agenda details are available at whisusa.com/speakers-2026.
About WHIS
The Women’s Health Innovation Summit is the only platform uniting the full women’s health ecosystem – providers, payers, employers, pharma leaders, investors, and innovators -to increase deal flow, expand reimbursement, improve access, and deliver better outcomes for women at every stage of life.
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