Scientists calculated the energy to carry a baby

WHAT’S ON DECK

• Tell Me More: It takes a lot of energy to create life, and scientists are saying it takes significantly more than they originally believed

• Troublemaker Spotlight: Wawa Gatheru, Environmental Activist

• Inside Track: Leaders on the move

• Dear FQ: What are signals that a company truly prioritizes employee well-being?

• Poll the Pack: With AI, critical thinking is needed now more than ever

TELL ME MORE

Pregnancy is labor intensive

Here’s a finding that will come as a surprise to absolutely no one who’s ever been pregnant: It requires a lot of energy…a lot. But you might not know just how much. Even scientists didn’t until this past year.

Dustin Marshall, an evolutionary biologist at Monash University, helped lead a study that examined the pregnancy “energy costs” of 81 different species from insects to humans. What they found was that the size of the animal correlates to how much energy it requires to reproduce…and for those that build placentas, like armadillos (yes, armadillos have placentas) and humans, those numbers get even higher.

By measuring the amount of oxygen a reproducing female consumes, scientists were able to estimate the overall metabolic rate for pregnant women. It turns out that a pregnancy requires 50,000 more dietary calories over 9 months, over 10X what was previously thought. FYI, that’s roughly 50 pints of Häagen-Dazs🍦

While it had been believed that a lot of this energy was being stored with the developing fetus, the study showed that 96% of it is being used entirely by the mother. In fact, pregnancy is so physically intense, that it’s equated to the metabolic toll of an ultramarathon.

“To think about pregnancy in the same terms that we think about Tour de France cyclists and triathletes makes you realize how incredibly demanding pregnancy is on the body,” says Herman Pontzer, an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. #giveusamedal

And that’s not all. Science shows that even after birth, a child’s DNA can remain inside a mother’s body for years, sometimes a lifetime. While scientists are still uncovering how fetal cells function, it’s clear that motherhood is more than an emotional connection; it transforms the body itself. 

While a mother’s DNA becomes a part of the fetus (maternal microchimerism), the reverse also happens, where a fetus’ DNA remains in the mother’s body for years (a phenomenon known as fetal-maternal microchimerism or FMc). These fetal cells travel through her blood, settle in her brain and organs, and become part of her.

In FMc, some of these cells take on new roles that can benefit immune system development, remission of autoimmune diseases during pregnancy, and tissue repair. For example, fetal cells that migrate to the mother’s heart can transform into cardiac cells, working alongside her own to help it function. It’s a biological connection that quite literally beats on. But at the same time, it can also have a negative impact that is dependent upon immune compatibility and other complications. 

Research led by Dr. Amy Boddy, associate professor at UC Santa Barbara, has found these cells in a wide range of maternal tissues. She describes it as “a small amount of genetically different cells or DNA in someone’s body.”

Even after a miscarriage, fetal cells remain in the mother’s body. For women who experience pregnancy loss, “it’s not just in their head that they’re forever changed by that pregnancy,” Boddy says. “Those cells may exist and influence their biology.”

With so much we still don’t know about pregnancy and women’s health, one thing is certain: Motherhood leaves a mark that science is only beginning to understand. So, mamas and soon-to-be-mamas? Take a nap: This. is. not. easy!

We’re thrilled to announce a first-of-its-kind partnership with Delta Air Lines to launch Women on the Rise: Boarding Pass, a curated list of Delta SkyMiles perks designed for you. Together, we’re making every mile go further, in business and in life.

TROUBLEMAKER SPOTLIGHT

Wawa Gatheru, Environmental Activist

Wawa Gatheru isn’t just fighting for the planet, she’s fighting for who gets to lead that fight. A Kenyan-American climate activist and the Founder and Executive Director behind Black Girl Environmentalist (BGE), Wawa is reshaping the climate movement to ensure Black women and girls are at the table making an impact. Her leadership spans global impact organizations, like Greenpeace USA, EarthJustice, and Climate Power, and she currently serves as a member of the National Environmental Youth Advisory Council of the U.S. EPA, which is the first federal youth-led advisory council in the U.S.

What’s the worst career advice you’ve gotten?

Folks have pressured me to follow more traditional paths. It comes from a good place, but I find that when it comes to your career, taking the path that most closely aligns with your unique talents and passions, even if it is uncharted, is the right way to go.

What’s the best piece of non-obvious career advice you’ve gotten?

Relationships are everything. Connecting with people is so paramount to any type of work that you do. While it seems simple, there is a lot of power in a handwritten thank you note or sending an email. Check in on people and ask about their family and the things that matter to them beyond work.

I’ve witnessed this from people close to me and people I look up to, and I’ve made it a part of my own practice. I even put it in my calendar; I know that can sound transactional, but it’s a good reminder for myself. Doing this has opened up my world in really intentional ways.

What was a “heartbeat moment” for you in your career?

Black Girl Environmentalist initially started out as a digital community, but there wasn't any fully fleshed-out programming or in-person events. When I graduated from Oxford University, I had a great career offer. 

But I had this gut feeling that I was meant to transform BGE’s Instagram into an operational organization. A lot of people told me I was crazy and questioned why I would spend a year building an organization, fundraising, and dog walking on the side to make ends meet. I had no guarantee of success and no safety net. But it was a guttural experience where I knew in my bones that I was supposed to make that decision, and I’m really happy I did.

Who is one person you’d love to give flowers to from your career that influenced your journey? What advice or lesson did you learn from them?

Shalanda Baker. I worked under her as a fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy where she was the first Deputy Director of Energy Justice. It was beautiful to witness someone so gracefully balance working high up in a federal administration department of our government, while also holding herself accountable to the community.

She is now working in academia at the University of Michigan and bringing so much of that into her role as a provost. I’m inspired by her, as she is an example of what it looks like to balance who you are, what you're about, and what drives you to pursue your work.

Where have you caused trouble?

I wrote an op-ed for Vice about being a young Black girl growing up in the climate movement. I shared what I'd learned and how I thought we could do better. It came out in early June of 2020 when there was a racial justice reckoning that led to many mainstream national and global conversations. I did not expect the article to blow up like it did, or that it would burn bridges as some took it as a personal attack.

Organizations I wrote about (but did not name) were able to identify themselves and made changes that still exist to this day. I was also able to connect with people that resonated with my story, and it helped build the digital community that became Black Girl Environmentalist. 

It was the first time I had publicly talked about how difficult it is to be a young person and a young person of color in a movement that’s predominantly older and white. Writing that article gave me internal permission to share more of myself in my work.

Want to nominate a “Troublemaker” you admire? You can do so here.

INSIDE TRACK

Leaders on the move

• Kruti Patel Goyal was appointed CEO of Etsy, a powerful promotion that celebrates her extraordinary leadership and track record of growing community-centered brands. After scaling Depop into one of TIME’s Most Influential Companies, Kruti returns to Etsy with a mission to uplift millions of creative entrepreneurs. Women still make up less than 10% of CEOs, which makes Goyal’s new role even more meaningful.

• Congratulations to Grace Wales Bonner, a visionary redefining the fashion industry and making history while doing it. From her groundbreaking appointment as Creative Director of Menswear at Hermès to her 2025 Menswear Designer of the Year at the UK Fashion Awards, Grace is proof of what’s possible when you lead with creativity and purpose. In an industry where women are the backbone of the workforce, but far too rarely the ones making the final creative decisions, moments like this are especially significant.

• Stacy Minero has been named Chief Marketing and Experience Officer at OUTFRONT Media, where she’ll lead marketing innovation, expand creative solutions, and embed brands into the heart of communities. With a passion for IRL experiences and a bold vision to evolve OUTFRONT into a digital and experiential powerhouse, Stacy is set to drive real-world brand impact in bold new ways.

• Joyce Kim has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer at Proofpoint, Inc., where she will lead global marketing and communications. With a standout track record at Zscaler, Twilio, and Google, Joyce brings deep expertise in cybersecurity and AI to help position Proofpoint as the defining leader in human- and agent-centric security. Her vision will be key to empowering organizations to innovate safely and build trust in the age of AI.

• Lauren Hurvitz has taken a new role as Senior Vice President and Head of Communications at the New York Mets, stepping into leadership at one of the most iconic franchises in professional sports. A powerhouse in strategic communications and public affairs, Lauren’s leadership marks a step forward, not just for the Mets, but for women rising in the business of sports.

DEAR FQ

Your burning career questions answered

Janis Gilman of The Female Quotient weighs in: 

It might be a relationship cliché, but hey, it applies to business too: Actions speak louder than words. You can spot a leader and company who genuinely care if they do the following:

• Listen and act. They create safe spaces, invite feedback, and most importantly, they follow through on it.

• Normalize balance. They respect boundaries, honor time off, and set clear expectations. They truly want you to be able to recharge.

• Lead with empathy. When managers check in about real life, family, sleep and workload, they create connection. Psychological safety improves when people feel heard.

• Make care equitable. It’s not just the “high performers,” “office‑friendly,” or “outspoken” people who benefit; it’s everyone. Autonomy, flexible schedules, and mental‑health support must apply broadly, otherwise they’re prioritizing optics over people. 

• Invest in growth. They support employees with clear paths for growth. 

But most importantly, you shouldn’t have to wonder; you should feel it. And that’s because a leader who genuinely cares about employee well-being has made sure to create a culture where care is a part of the DNA, not just something you’re promised in an onboarding meeting.

P.S. Got a burning career question? Serve it up here to Dear FQ to score advice from a powerhouse leader in our network.

POLL THE PACK

AI can’t think for you: Critical thinking tops the workplace wish list

Critical thinking has always been essential but “AI Slop” is making it non-negotiable.

What is AI Slop? We're talking about “AI-generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.” And it’s showing up everywhere.

According to a recent BetterUp and Stanford study, 40% of workers say they’ve received low-effort, AI-generated workslop in the last month. The result? More clean-up, more back-and-forth, especially in industries like tech and professional services. Editors and managers are spending extra time reviewing and correcting content that should’ve been done right the first time.

The real problem? The human cost. As behavioral scientist Kate Niederhoffer explains, the burden is being quietly shifted onto someone else, and no one’s calling it out.

AI can be a powerful tool, but it can't replace the skills that make work work: Judgment, nuance, and the ability to ask, “Does this even make sense?”

Maybe soft skills aren’t so soft after all.

Xo,

The FQ

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