You ask, we answer (FAQs)

From the beginning of this project, we have been inspired by the resilience of women and their bodies. Women’s bodies go through major evolutions throughout our lives, and so much of the changes (think hormones) are directly responsible for our ability to give and sustain life. Even if a woman does not choose to, or cannot, become pregnant and have children, her body will still go through many of the transformations that make it possible to do so.

The capacity for resilience that women hold appears over and over again in our lives. We assess our environments - socially, professionally, personally - and we shift and evolve in order to thrive.

The Ginkgo tree is considered to be one of the most resilient trees in existence. It’s origins date back millions of years and is the only tree known to have shared this earth with the dinosaurs. It has adapted and evolved because it is resilient. It can thrive in many different regions, and has a high tolerance for environmental pollutants, and holds significant purpose in traditional medicines in many East Asian cultures.

We named this company “GYNKGO” to connect the resilience of women along our GYNecological evolution with this timeless tree that will outlive us all.

Most of us are NOT (though Mackenzie’s friends DO call her before they check WebMD). Our role in this journey is NOT to provide medical advice, it’s to normalize the experience of a POP diagnosis and the experience of managing a vaginal pessary.

Dr. Jenn Gelfand is our clinical partner and provides valuable insight and perspective into the clinical-adjacent aspects of our business.

Otherwise, GYNKGO has been built by a woman on a mission with a lot of help from women (and a couple of men) who believe that women deserve to feel capable, empowered, and sophisticated while managing their pelvic health. To see the whole team responsible for bringing GYNKGO to life, click through to meet the team.

Woof. This one always gets us. The GYNKGO case has been designed to first be functional, and second to be beautiful.

Through the design process, we led with function, because more than anything, we want you to have something that will simplify your life and give you back mental and emotional space (and time) to focus on your whole self, not just your pelvic area. We wanted to create ONE item that can hold and protect your pessary, cleanser, supportive creams (and even your menstrual cup if you use one). Our favorite joke is that we created a “box-box!”

Once we nailed down the function, we wanted this to be beautiful. We know how hard it can be to add a medical device into your life, and we have felt the stigma and embarrassment that can sometimes come with having to use a vaginal pessary. Every day, we invest in things that bring us joy. We wanted to create something that women just like us will be happy to have sitting in their gym bags, or on their bathroom counters. We wanted to create something we wanted to look at, wanted to hold, and wanted to use. If you can get that from a reusable food container or a plastic bag, then we are shopping at different stores!

Great question! We’re thrilled to share that we found a wonderful manufacturer in New Hampshire (it even happens to be about 20 minutes from where our founder grew up).

Part of the dream in building GYNKGO was to have a product that could be manufactured locally. It seemed unlikely, and then the stars aligned.

Even better, the facility is owned by a husband and wife who are huge proponents of women’s health!

Wish granted!

We are so glad you asked! From the very beginning, we knew we needed to be able to support all women, even those for whom a case was out-of-budget.

The reality is many women in the U.S. can’t afford the pelvic tools — like pessaries, dilators, and supportive bands — that they need to support their bodies. We know this is unacceptable, which is why we are in the process of establishing a partnership with a non-profit that provides these items to women across the country at no cost!

A portion of every GYNKGO case sold will go toward buying a pessary for a woman who cannot afford one. We’ll be sharing more details when we can <3

Soon! We are in the process of conducting our user testing to make sure that this product is absolutely perfect. If you are as excited as we are and believe in this vision, please join our email list where we will be sharing product updates and where we will launch pre-sales!