How a Trauma Surgeon Mom is Building a New Model for Modern Motherhood

By Brittany Bankhead, MD

Founder of Modern Mom Lab

As a trauma surgeon, I’ve spent most of my adult life running toward chaos. My days—and nights—are filled with emergencies, hard conversations, and impossible choices. For years, I believed relentless dedication was the only way to succeed in medicine and motherhood. But somewhere along the line, the life I built to help others nearly broke me.

I was burned out, exhausted, and missing the very moments that make life worth living. Between late-night surgeries, school drop-offs, and constant charting, I realized something had to change. Resilience and grit became my lifeline—a steady reminder that I could rebuild a life of purpose, this time on my own terms.

That turning point became the spark behind Modern Mom Lab, a company I founded to help women—especially mothers—optimize their time, reconnect with their purpose, and design lives filled with possibility. It’s a space where women learn to reclaim control of their days through strategy and action instead of exhaustion and unhelpful “tips.”

From Burnout to Breakthrough

At first, Modern Mom Lab was just a passion project—a way to process my own journey from burnout to balance. But as I began sharing my story, I met countless other women silently struggling with the same impossible standard: to be everything, everywhere, all at once.

I wanted to show them another way. Through my signature course, Time Alchemy, I teach women to unlearn society’s “having it all” and define what truly matters to them. The work blends science and systems thinking with the humanity of motherhood—a framework built by someone who knows what it’s like to juggle life in the operating room and at home. We help women reclaim the time they so desperately crave.

Building a Village That Works

The biggest transformation wasn’t just in me—it was in what happened next. As I built Modern Mom Lab, I hired my first Family Virtual Assistant (FVA), a mom on a career pause who wanted to contribute professionally while working from home. She became my right hand—organizing my work AND my home life, helping me stay focused on my career and family both.

Our partnership changed everything. I wasn’t just outsourcing tasks—I was modeling what modern work could look like for women everywhere. She had flexibility to work around her kids’ schedules, and I finally had the mental space to be present in my own life. Together, we created something revolutionary in its simplicity: a relationship built on trust, flexibility, and mutual gratitude.

That partnership became the foundation for The Family Virtual Assistant Institute, a branch of Modern Mom Lab dedicated to training other women to become FVAs. It’s more than a course—it’s a movement empowering capable, detail-oriented women to earn income on their own terms while helping busy families thrive.

Gratitude as Innovation

Today, gratitude isn’t just an emotion—it’s a business strategy. It’s woven into every part of how I lead, teach, and build. Gratitude for moms challenging the norm, for my team, and for the chance to do things differently fuels every innovation at Modern Mom Lab.

Sustainable growth starts with appreciation—for the people who make your work possible, the boundaries that protect your energy, and the grace to evolve. I’m still a trauma surgeon—I still rush into the OR when lives depend on it—but I also get to tuck my kids in at night knowing that I’m living proof reinvention is possible.

Every time I hear from a mom who says Modern Mom Lab helped her feel seen or from a new Family Virtual Assistant who just finished the course and set her own rates, I’m reminded that healing doesn’t always happen in hospitals. Sometimes, it happens in homes—between women who choose to lift each other up.

That’s what partnership looks like in action—and that’s how women win.

Connect With Brittany

www.modernmomlab.com/

Business Instagram / Facebook: @ModernMomLab

Personal Instagram / TikTok: @BankheadMD