Bianka Barrett is passionate about health and wellbeing, and committed to supporting women on their pregnancy journey and into motherhood. Having suffered pregnancy loss at 9 weeks with her first baby, she set out to study the importance of nutrition and wellbeing during pregnancy, implementing what she had learned and enjoying a healthy pregnancy and birth of her daughter. It was this journey into motherhood that inspired the creation of 40 Weeks, supporting mums with her online programs designed to support a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
It was my journey through pregnancy into mamahood that inspired the creation of 40 Weeks and our signature online program NOURISH: A Week-By-Week Nutrition Guide For A Healthy Pregnancy.
I’m now the proud mama of a beautiful little girl. However, it took a heartbreaking pregnancy loss and extensive learning for me to get the healthy pregnancy and healthy baby I yearned for.
After losing our baby “Bob” at 9 weeks, I studied all things pregnancy and pregnancy nutrition. We then implemented what I’d learned, took the time to prepare for pregnancy and tried again.
We fell pregnant easily and went on to have a complication-free pregnancy, labour and birth, and breastfeeding journey. Our daughter Allegra had a healthy start in life and continues to thrive.
Fast forward to today, and I support women around the world to also get the healthy pregnancy and healthy baby of their dreams.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
40 Weeks was birthed following the loss of my first pregnancy. After discovering a link between pregnancy nutrition and miscarriage, I started on my quest to answer the question: “what do I eat while pregnant?“.
I found key nutrients are needed at the various stages of pregnancy in order for mum and baby to thrive. If there’s a deficiency in any of these key nutrients, pregnancy complications are more likely and baby’s growth and development may be negatively affected.
After years of ongoing research and collaboration with experts in their field, I finally felt ready to launch my business.
I got to work creating NOURISH: A Week-By-Week Nutrition Guide For A Healthy Pregnancy. Together with nutritionists, fertility specialists, naturopaths, obstetricians, GPs, chefs and health coaches, I took the latest evidence-based research on nutrition during pregnancy and built an online program designed to support a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby.
At first, I gifted this online program to my pregnant friends. After tweaking the program based on their feedback and ironing out some technical glitches, I made it available to women everywhere.
Since launching NOURISH, I’ve supported women from around the world on their pregnancy journey. I’ve helped them to know what, when and how to eat to meet the demands of pregnancy on their own body and to nourish their growing little ones.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Creating an e-book titled Key Nutrients For A Healthy Pregnancy: A Trimester By Trimester Guide and sharing it with my audience for free, has been a major breakthrough in my business.
The e-book has helped educate women about the importance of eating a nourishing diet throughout their pregnancy journey. It’s also positioned 40 Weeks as the go-to for all things pregnancy nutrition.
Additionally, using technology to automate the delivery of content to my mamas, learning the art of copywriting from Marie Forleo and Laura Belgray via their online course The Copy Cure, and discovering the ins and outs of building an email list from Amy Porterfield have enabled me to gain traction and scale my online business.
