Ep. 4 – The Art of Being Human

(00:00) Gabrielle:
Medical device marketing has a reputation for being formal, clinical, and careful to a fault. But the problem is, if you don’t sound human, you’re not going to be heard.

(00:09) Karen:
Because when the topic is personal, the words you choose can either build trust or build a wall.

(00:34) Gabrielle:
Welcome back to Two Uteruses Walk Into a Bar. I’m Gabrielle Svenning.

(00:37) Karen:
And I’m Karen Flynn. Today we’re talking about something many healthcare brands struggle with: balancing authority and accuracy with approachability.

(00:45) Gabrielle:
It isn’t about being less serious. It’s about being more human — clear, compassionate, and real enough that people can relate to the stories you’re telling.

(00:56) Karen:
In women’s health, transitioning your voice from clinical to conversational isn’t just a marketing preference. It’s vital. If women can’t connect with what you say, they won’t recognize the value of your solution, no matter how strong the clinical data is.

(01:14) Gabrielle:
Today’s guests know this firsthand. Dr. Samantha Pulliam and Christina Reita of Axena Health are helping translate reliable, evidence-based data into clear, approachable, and empowering communications.

(01:27) Karen:
It’s going to be a great conversation. To get ready for it, it’s time to introduce our mocktail of the day. Our mocktail of the day is a nojito. Muddle some mint, put it in a glass with ice, add ginger ale or Fresca, a little lime juice, and maple syrup if you’d like. It’s light, it’s bright, and it’s proof that the right combination can create a delicious experience.

(01:32) Gabrielle:
So raise your glass. Let’s get into it. Cheers.

(01:54) Karen:
Cheers.

(01:57) Karen:
Our guests today are two incredible leaders from Axena Health, Dr. Samantha Pulliam and Christina Reita. Thank you both for being here.

(02:09) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Thank you.

(02:11) Gabrielle:
To get us started, for our listeners, could you please introduce yourselves and talk a little bit about your respective roles at Axena Health?

(02:21) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
I’m Samantha Pulliam. I’m a urogynecologist by training, and I still practice clinically. I’m also the Chief Medical Officer at Axena Health. I spend most of my time working with research and data, translating how our products work and how effective they are for different audiences, including clinicians, patients, investors, and payers. I also support sales training and other areas where medical information needs to be clearly understood.

(02:59) Karen:
Christina, tell us about you.

(03:08) Christina Reita:
I’m Christina Reita, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Axena Health. My team and I are responsible for delivering results for the organization, all grounded in ensuring that our commercial strategy and communications align with our mission and clearly show how we help women living with urinary and fecal incontinence.

(03:55) Karen:
For listeners who may not be as familiar with Axena Health, your work centers on an issue that impacts many women and often goes unspoken: urinary incontinence. Before we dive into brand voice, can you describe the unique needs of the women you serve and how those needs shape your communications?

(04:17) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine. It can occur with coughing or sneezing, with urgency, or as a combination of both. Axena Health, through the LEVA Pelvic Health System, also treats chronic fecal incontinence. Our focus is caring for women with pelvic floor disorders.

(05:32) Christina Reita:
I’ve spent most of my career in medical marketing, and it wasn’t until I started working at Axena Health that I realized even I paused before saying “urinary incontinence.” That insight shaped our messaging. We focus on making a medically relevant condition approachable by emphasizing that there are proven solutions and that women deserve to feel empowered to have open conversations with their clinicians. On average, women wait more than six years before bringing this up, and that’s what we’re working to change.

(07:06) Gabrielle:
Samantha, you talked about the LEVA Pelvic Health System. Before we go any further, since we’re talking about tone and clarity, let’s be very clear about what you’re offering women and how it represents a new approach to a common problem.

(07:23) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Urinary incontinence has a very clear treatment pathway. The first step is pelvic floor muscle training, often referred to as Kegels. I hesitate to use that term because it implies something simple and universally understood, and it’s actually more complicated than that.

(07:43) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
When someone is told to go home and do pelvic floor exercises, they can’t see those muscles. They’re internal. If you were told to exercise your biceps, you could see whether you were doing it correctly. Women don’t have that feedback with pelvic floor muscles, and studies show many women believe they’re doing the exercises correctly when they’re not.

(08:03) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Pelvic floor physical therapy is an excellent option, but it doesn’t work for many women due to time, cost, and logistics. It can require multiple visits per week, time off work, childcare coordination, and transportation.

(08:43) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
The need to train on your own schedule, in your own space, and in privacy is what led to the LEVA Pelvic Health System. LEVA includes a small wand placed in the vagina, about the size of a small tampon, designed to be comfortable and not intimidating.

(09:05) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Once inserted, it connects wirelessly to an app that shows how effectively pelvic floor muscles are being engaged. Biofeedback isn’t new, but LEVA’s approach allows women to see the upward lift of those muscles, which is essential for effective training.

(09:49) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
The app includes educational material developed by pelvic floor physical therapists, along with patient education from the Mayo Clinic. Women use LEVA for two and a half minutes, twice a day.

(10:11) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
The app also includes surveys and questionnaires that track symptoms and progress. That information is collected wirelessly and shared with the prescribing clinician through monthly reports. LEVA is a prescription product, and this reporting helps maintain continuity of care.

(10:23) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
First-line care works for many women and helps them avoid medications or surgery. For others, additional care may be needed. Without tracking and follow-up, many women are lost in that process. LEVA helps keep women connected to their clinicians and supported throughout their care journey.

(10:48) Karen:
Education and communication are such a big part of what you’re doing. You’re clearly operating in a clinical space. Christina, how do you navigate the tension between being clinically credible and approachable when you’re marketing to multiple audiences?

(11:28) Christina Reita:
We think about this constantly. Clinicians deserve clinical messaging rooted in science, outcomes, safety, and durability. That information has to be there for them to feel confident in a product.

(11:50) Christina Reita:
At the same time, while we don’t market directly to consumers, our information reaches patients through clinicians and through our LEVA Women’s Center. That means we need to take clinically relevant information and present it in a way that’s accessible and meaningful to patients.

(12:15) Christina Reita:
Even small language choices matter. “Urinary incontinence” is a medical term that often brings to mind an older population. Many women don’t see themselves in that phrase. Using terms like “bladder leakage” can still be medically accurate while helping women recognize themselves in the condition. Those small shifts help bridge understanding without compromising credibility.

(14:13) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
If we’re not careful, we can end up in an echo chamber where everyone around us understands what we mean, and we assume everyone else does too. Clinical data doesn’t have value unless it can be presented in a way that’s meaningful to the women who need it.

(14:28) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Women deserve products that work and have been proven to work. They also deserve information that’s delivered in a way they can understand. That balance is one of the central challenges in this space.

(14:52) Karen:
Samantha, you mentioned earlier the importance of collaboration across teams. Can you share an example of how that plays out in practice at Axena Health?

(15:12) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
One example that stands out comes from our pivotal randomized controlled trial. As clinicians, we often rely on statistical measures like medians because they’re appropriate and rigorous. But when we looked at how that data would be communicated to patients, we realized it wasn’t meaningful to them.

(15:39) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Marketing needed a way to explain the results clearly and simply, while I needed to ensure we maintained scientific accuracy. That created tension, but it was productive tension. We brought in statistical experts and worked through alternative analyses that preserved the integrity of the data while making the outcomes understandable.

(16:22) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
It required trust on both sides. Marketing trusted that we weren’t going to dilute the science, and clinical trusted that the goal wasn’t to oversimplify but to clarify. In the end, we found a way to communicate results that were both accurate and meaningful.

(16:58) Gabrielle:
That kind of collaboration sounds essential, especially in women’s health. Christina, how do you build that trust internally across teams?

(17:14) Christina Reita:
It starts with a shared North Star. Everyone needs to understand why we exist as a company. Yes, we need to run a successful business, but we’re also here to solve a real problem for women.

(17:42) Christina Reita:
When teams are aligned around that purpose, it becomes easier to work through disagreements. We encourage transparency and open dialogue. People need to feel safe raising concerns and asking questions without worrying about stepping on toes.

(18:10) Christina Reita:
That mindset extends beyond marketing and clinical. Sales, product, customer support — everyone plays a role in shaping how we show up. When we trust intent and stay focused on the patient, the work gets better.

(18:42) Karen:
You both touched on something important: shifting the conversation from products to patients. How does that mindset change the way you approach marketing and sales?

(19:03) Christina Reita:
We anchor our messaging to the patient care journey rather than to a traditional sales funnel. That changes everything. It forces us to ask where a clinician or a patient is starting from and what they actually need at that moment.

(19:28) Christina Reita:
When sales teams understand that journey, they have more meaningful conversations. They’re not just delivering a pitch; they’re helping clinicians think through how to care for women more effectively.

(19:56) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
From a clinical perspective, that approach also builds confidence. When clinicians see that the messaging aligns with how they actually practice medicine, it reinforces trust. It shows that the company understands the realities of patient care, not just the product features.

(20:34) Gabrielle:
That alignment between clinical reality and communication feels critical, especially as you think about changing standards of care.

(20:48) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Absolutely. When we talk about shifting standards of care, it has to be grounded in real-world outcomes. We look closely at how women are using LEVA outside of clinical trials and whether those outcomes match what we saw in the data.

(21:16) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Seeing comparable results in real-world settings gives clinicians confidence and reassures patients that this approach truly works.

(21:42) Karen:
As we start to wrap up, I’d love to hear your advice for other women’s health brands trying to balance credibility with humanity.

(22:00) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
Your North Star matters. Understanding the problem you’re solving and staying focused on how well you’re caring for women makes it easier to make decisions and break down silos.

(22:24) Samantha Pulliam, MD:
When everyone is aligned around that purpose, collaboration becomes easier, and the outcomes are better for patients.

(22:48) Christina Reita:
Trust intent. Be transparent. And remember that authentic communication starts internally. If teams aren’t aligned inside the company, it will show externally.