G-Chats With Giana Jarrah

G-Chats With Giana Jarrah

I’m Giana Jarrah, founder and CEO of With Meraki Co., and your biomedical engineering big sister, here to break barriers around vaginal health, reproductive wellness, and more. This podcast is a nod to "G": me, Giana; "girlhood," celebrating our journeys; and a throwback to my Lehigh days, where "G-chats" were monthly check-ins with dorm advisors. Join me for unfiltered conversations about understanding your body, reclaiming your health, and finding empowerment. Whether you’re curious about science or just want to hang out with G, this is your space. Let’s learn and grow together! 💖

  1. 10h ago

    Chat About Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) With Your Biomedical Engineering Big Sister

    Bacterial vaginosis is one of the most common vaginal conditions, yet it's still surrounded by confusion, stigma, and misinformation.In this episode, we're diving into the claim that BV is an STI, why that label isn't supported by what we currently know about the vaginal microbiome, and how sex absolutely can influence vaginal health without making BV a sexually transmitted infection.We also unpack why BV comes back so often, the limitations of how it's currently diagnosed and evaluated, and why so many people feel stuck in a cycle of treatment and recurrence. If you've ever wondered why BV can be so frustrating to manage, or why the conversation around it often feels oversimplified, this episode is for you.Because understanding the microbiology behind BV is far more helpful than attaching shame to it. 💞

    41 min

  2. May 31

    When Hygiene Becomes a Competition: Reacting to Viral Routines

    In this episode, I'm reacting to viral TikTok feminine hygiene routines and discussing something I see far too often: fear of bacteria.Somewhere along the way, we've been taught that every smell, every discharge, every skin texture, and every microbe is a problem that needs to be scrubbed, disinfected, or eliminated. The result? Many people are using increasingly harsh products in pursuit of being "clean." But your skin and your microbiome aren't enemies.More often than not, loving your skin through gentle, nourishing care will reward you with less irritation, less odor, fewer breakouts, a healthier skin barrier, and a microbiome that can actually do its job. So let's talk about what these routines get right, where social media gets carried away, and why hygiene should support your body, not punish it.

    50 min

  3. May 24

    Meet Barrier Bar! MY NEW PRODUCT

    This episode is probably one of the most personal episodes I’ve ever recorded. We’re talking about the REAL reason I created Barrier Bar, the science behind why the feminine hygiene industry has failed women for decades, the difference between vulvar and vaginal care, and why I believe women deserve something more nuanced than “harsh cleansing” versus “just use water.”I also talk about the emotional side of this launch, including weaving my Syrian heritage into Barrier Bar and collaborating with Syrian artist Farah Alimi to create a piece that represents womanhood, care, softness, and the story behind this product.This isn’t just about a cleanser. It’s about reframing the way women are taught to think about their bodies.Now streaming everywhere ♥️

    40 min

  4. May 17

    Reacting to The Guardian... Do Probiotics Work?

    In this episode, I break down The Guardian’s recent article on vaginal probiotics paragraph by paragraph as a biomedical engineer who studies female reproductive health and someone who actively critiques shame-based wellness marketing while ALSO recognizing that vaginal dysbiosis, recurrent BV, recurrent UTIs, and asymptomatic imbalance are very real.We discuss:• why wellness culture deserves criticism• why fear-based feminine hygiene marketing is harmful• why “self-cleaning” gets oversimplified• asymptomatic vaginal imbalance• Lactobacillus dominance and vaginal health• the lack of progress in BV/UTI treatment• emerging microbiome science• probiotics, strain specificity, and survivability• why “emerging science” ≠ “pseudoscience”• and the middle ground women actually deserveThe future of women’s health cannot continue existing in extremes.The article: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2026/apr/29/vaginal-microbiome-probiotics-marketing

    38 min

  5. May 10

    The History of The Feminine Hygiene Aisle (and why I hate it)

    The feminine hygiene aisle didn’t just appear overnight and it definitely wasn’t built around what the female body actually needs. In this episode, I’m breaking down the real history behind it, from early marketing rooted in “female weakness” and odor control to the normalization of douching and the creation of an entire category designed to make women feel like their bodies were a problem to fix. We’re talking about how fear, desirability, and even marriage were used as marketing tools, how science eventually pushed back, and why that messaging never fully went away, it just evolved.Then we connect it to today, because if you’ve ever heard phrases like “freshen up before sex,” “get rid of odor instantly,” or “make your vagina taste better,” you are seeing the modern version of the exact same shame-based marketing. It may look cleaner, more aesthetic, and more wellness-focused, but the underlying message has not changed.This episode is about understanding the difference between true hygiene and manufactured insecurity, and learning how to separate what your body actually needs from what you’ve been told it should be.Free Stock Footage by Vecteezy.comDesigned by freepik.com

    31 min

  6. May 3

    How to Read Your Vaginal Microbiome Test (Like a Biomedical Engineer)

    I genuinely think vaginal microbiome testing is one of the most misunderstood areas of women’s health right now. People are opening these reports, seeing percentages and bacteria names they can’t pronounce, and immediately spiraling.So as your biomedical engineering big sister who studies female reproductive health, I made an entire episode teaching you how to actually read your microbiome test results WITHOUT fear mongering, misinformation, or oversimplifying the science.Because your microbiome is not about “good” bacteria vs “bad” bacteria. It’s about balance, dominance, patterns, and context.Free Stock Footage by Vecteezy.comDesigned by freepik.com

    25 min

  7. Apr 26

    Shame Based Education + Misogyny in Women's Health (a rant)

    Most of what you were taught about your body wasn’t designed to empower you...it was designed to control you. From “stay fresh” to “don’t smell” to silence around discharge, pain, and infections, women’s health has been built on shame instead of science. And that doesn’t just exist culturally, it shows up in medicine too. In this episode, I’m unpacking how that conditioning starts, how it’s reinforced, and why so many women are left managing symptoms instead of understanding their bodies. This is a rant, but it’s also a reality check: your body is not the problem, the lack of education is.Free Stock Footage by Vecteezy.comDesigned by freepik.com

    42 min

  8. Apr 19

    Your Fertility Journey: The Science of Preparing Your Body for Pregnancy

    Fertility is constantly reduced to ovulation, timing sex, and tracking your cycle but that is only a small piece of what is actually happening in the body.In this episode, we break down the real biology behind your fertility journey, including the hormonal signaling that regulates ovulation, the role of the vaginal microbiome in implantation, how your gut influences estrogen metabolism, and why chronic inflammation can interfere with pregnancy even when everything looks “normal.”We also talk about something that is rarely acknowledged, which is that your nervous system, your metabolism, and your immune system are all directly involved in your ability to conceive. If those systems are dysregulated, your body will not prioritize reproduction the way you think it should.This is not about doing more or trying harder. It is about understanding your body well enough to support it. Because fertility is not a moment. It is a reflection of your overall health. Free Stock Footage by Vecteezy.comDesigned by freepik.com

    25 min
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5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

I’m Giana Jarrah, founder and CEO of With Meraki Co., and your biomedical engineering big sister, here to break barriers around vaginal health, reproductive wellness, and more. This podcast is a nod to "G": me, Giana; "girlhood," celebrating our journeys; and a throwback to my Lehigh days, where "G-chats" were monthly check-ins with dorm advisors. Join me for unfiltered conversations about understanding your body, reclaiming your health, and finding empowerment. Whether you’re curious about science or just want to hang out with G, this is your space. Let’s learn and grow together! 💖

Information

  • Creator
    G-Chats With Giana Jarrah
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    43
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © G-Chats With Giana Jarrah
  • Show Website
    G-Chats With Giana Jarrah

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