Looking back at her career, there were signs Lalaina Rabary was destined to work for Momcozy. Rabary has been the brand marketing manager for Momcozy, a global maternity and baby brand for moms in early motherhood (many of which are serviced by Momcozy's DME provider network), for two years now. She said working in the maternal DME market is a full circle moment for her, as she started in the industry fresh out of college.
“I worked for VGM and I was the communication specialist for their People for Quality Care Advocacy Division,” she said. “At that time, the industry was fighting against competitive bidding, so we were essentially trying to mobilize voices to add to our government relations side. That really gave me a love for storytelling. I knew content marketing was my place, and I really wanted to make sure that was mission-centered. I moved into the in-house marketing team at VGM and did a lot of work for them working on campaigns and supporting vendors.”
She then worked for Keller Williams Realty International for four years, before being among the company's mass layoffs as director of strategic communications.
After having her first baby and nearly a year of successful marketing consulting she received an email from a recruiter at Momcozy. Then she received an email from a recruiter at Momcozy.
Momcozy introduced its first wearable breast pump in 2020, and Rabary said it now has eight models of the pump in addition to an expansive product suite of prenatal and postpartum products serving 4.5 million moms.
As a mother of two, Rabary said she loves the maternity sector because of her own experience. She said the core of her work is building the professional brand and connecting with clinicians.
Rabary said she’s seen what accessible maternity equipment can do for mothers, boosting their confidence and making the transition from the hospital to mom-mode easier.
“I just don’t think the industry has understood how incredibly powerful the motherhood market can be,” she said. “Even when I was in DME, when I started, people were focused on wound care and mobility, which are really high-priced reimbursement items, but I don’t think the DME industry also focused on the entire journey of motherhood and just how much market value there really is. From the maternity market there has also been such a huge focus on babies, and Momcozy came out with the message that we put moms first, and that really shook things up.”
Momcozy offers a variety of wearable breast pumps as well as maternity belts, pregnancy pillows, compression socks and other products to aid in physical comfort. Rabary added sleep is becoming a growing market the maternal industry is paying attention to.
“What DME is starting to understand is moms will pay whatever they need to pay to alleviate the discomfort they feel,” Rabary said. “DME’s are exceptional at patient care and understand the value they bring to the table.”
Rabary said she frequently has mothers reach out to her to express their gratitude for their products. Many, she said, are health care providers working 14-hour shifts who otherwise wouldn’t get time to pump. Seeing the difference Momcozy makes to new moms hits Rabary on a personal level.
“It’s everything to me as a mom myself,” she said. “I have a three year old and a six month old, and I think everyone knows and loves a mom and supports a mom, and moms are truly at the core and center of where life starts, and so to be a part of making it a safer journey for them is very meaningful. Health care is the largest industry…and it is an industry that needs innovation and creative thinking. We need companies to come together, manufacturers and DMEs, advocacy groups and nonprofits … we need to come together and integrate our efforts because there’s a lot at stake for moms right now.”