KC doctors create line of scrubs for pregnant, nursing moms — like themselves
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Two Kansas City physicians formed Vervee Scrubs after facing pumping and maternity issues.
- Vervee’s scrub top features patent-pending side zippers for discreet pump access.
- The founders turned Vervee into a family-run business when their husbands joined.
When family medicine physician Dr. Christine Khong Tran went back to work after having her first child in August 2021, she ran into a problem she quickly learned was common among women who wear scrubs to work.
It was a real pain to pump her breast milk during a work shift.
The pump didn’t fit easily under non-stretchy scrub tops designed to slip over the head, which meant she basically had to undress every time she needed to pump.
As a first-time mom this was news to her. Even maternity scrubs weren’t very accommodating for pumping or ever-changing pregnant and postpartum bodies.
“I had to lift my shirt up and expose my body a lot,” said Tran, who is affiliated with AdventHealth. ”Even though I was in a shared office space with another physician colleague, it just felt really uncomfortable and cold. I was realizing this is just not fun.
“And then Melanie came to me with an idea.”
Melanie is her good friend Dr. Melanie Camejo, who had listened closely to Tran’s concerns. Unbeknownst to each other, both were thinking of ways to design better scrubs.
“Christine got pregnant before I did, so I kind of watched her go through the struggle of there not being cute or comfortable maternity clothes,” said Camejo, an emergency medicine doctor who works nights at University Health, Kansas City’s safety-net hospital (formerly Truman Medical Center).
“So in my head I was like, maybe we should try to do something.”
What began percolating four years ago as a side hustle for two busy doctor moms became a mission and a full-blown business now on the cusp of its next phase.
The friends launched Vervee Scrubs, a line of maternity and flexible-sized scrubs. The name Vervee came out of a brainstorming session as they came across the word “verve,” which means energy, enthusiasm and spirit. They added an extra “e” to make it unique.
The star of Vervee is a top with patent-pending side zippers — a “why didn’t someone think of this before” detail — which they say is a first in the scrubs market.
“It’s nice because you don’t see anything. You’re completely covered and that’s what we wanted,” said Camejo. “I pump while I drive. No one can see or know what I’m doing. We wanted you to be able to access your milk makers, for lack of a better word, in any kind of situation.”
As it turned out, quick, easy, zippered access accommodates the use of insulin pumps and other medical devices, too. “A lot of people see the zipper and they’re like, ‘Oh, I thought your scrubs were only for breastfeeding moms,’” Camejo said. “Not true at all.”
What began with the two moms became a family-run business when their physician husbands — Dr. Kevin Tran and Dr. David Camejo — joined in. David is the numbers guy; Kevin is the tech go-to.
For four people who know a lot about medicine, what they didn’t know about how to start and run a business was daunting.
“Finding a manufacturer, what country is going to accept your minimum order, tariffs, things that I never even thought about,” said Camejo. “A warehouse? Where are you going to get that? Who’s going to fill the orders?
“At first we thought we could just fill the orders ourselves in our basement. I mean, wild. We were like, ‘OK, let’s save some money.’ But we learned you really can’t cut corners. And everyone that we’ve brought onto our team has opened up our eyes and taught us something.”
Last year the company got a boost of local exposure when it was recognized as a 2025 Small Business Superstar by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
Starting at the top
Camejo wasn’t a mom yet when they started working on the line, but today the friends have two children each.
They used pregnant friends as informal fit models. “We have such an amazing, supportive friend group in our area, we’re all in different phases of life. Everyone’s getting pregnant,” said Camejo.
“They’re nurses, they’re in the medical field, in sales ... everyone would come over. We have so many pictures of our friends in different stages of pregnancy ... all different shapes and sizes.
“And they were great. I mean, we had a day where we had maybe five or six of our friends come over, all pregnant, and we put them in different sizes. They had to bend, do all this stuff and give us feedback.
“And right now I have a lot of pregnant nurses and (medical) residents, so I’m like, ‘Hey, here’s some scrubs. Give me your feedback.’ We’re constantly trying to make changes.”
They heard universal complaints about scrubs already on the market.
I hate wearing scrubs when I’m pregnant; they’re uncomfortable, itchy and stiff.
The scrubs don’t grow with my changing body.
I feel like I’m wearing a potato sack.
“We just heard so many complaints,” said Tran. “And then people were telling me these big name brands have maternity scrubs but it seems like they are just an afterthought, like their main focus was regular scrubs for non-pregnant people, men and women.
“But our focus is maternity first, and postpartum, and really growing with the belly. Scrubs should be comfortable, especially when you’re doing these eight, 10, 12-hour shifts.”
The top with a zipper on each side was an instant hit.
“We just wanted some sort of access that wasn’t obvious,” said Camejo. “So when your arms are down you’re not really looking for a zipper. We wanted something that you could easily pop on and then it covers you. So it’s kind of like a little tent in front of you.
“I’m actually still pumping at the moment. The other day I literally was running a code (an emergency procedure) with my pumps ... holding my pump on the side. When I walked out everyone was laughing at me, but you couldn’t see anything. They’re like, ‘wow, dedication.’”
The company’s straight-leg and jogger pants come with belly bands or without that supportive belt worn during pregnancy and postpartum. Vervee pants have thicker, wider, supportive waist bands instead of drawstrings for “bodies on a journey,” the company describes.
“We felt like the drawstrings for other companies ... were really restrictive when you had a baby bump,” said Tran “And then in our other pants with the belly band, If you’re maybe halfway through your pregnancy and you don’t need a full belly band, you can fold it over, and it kind of acts like a compressive piece.
“I continued to use my pants with the belly band postpartum for several months until I felt more comfortable. I wear them sometimes on the weekends. I don’t work on the weekends ... they’re just comfortable.”
Though their niche market is pregnant women, non-moms are buying the scrubs, too, apparently for the comfort factor. One of their early advisers helped them choose fabrics. Stretch and support for blooming bellies were key.
They also wanted material that was breathable, “to have a little bit of cooling effect because women can sometimes run kind of warm, especially doing what we’re doing,” Tran said.
“We also wanted it to have the properties of being antimicrobial as well so we don’t bring bugs home. We wanted it to be quick-drying too so if we get water on us or bodily fluids, or whatever, it would dry quickly.
“Those are all properties of the scrubs that we wanted and that kind of dictated the thickness as well.”
The material they chose comes with something of a learning curve because it’s “on the thicker side of scrubs,” said Camejo.
Some of the scrubs have been returned because customers found the material to be too thick for their liking. “We’re hoping to put out a third (line) with maybe a lighter material,” and more colors, said Camejo.
They appreciate all the feedback, good and bad.
“I have an attendee (attending physician) I work with who’s going through menopause and she’s like, ‘these are amazing. I get a hot flash and it cools me right off,’” said Camejo.
“So I want to be that for these women so they know that they’re being heard. We take their feedback. The only thing that stops us is it’s so expensive to start a business and people are like, ‘can you get this color and do that?’
“I wish I could, but you don’t understand how many hundreds of thousands of units I have to order. So we’re trying. We have an idea of what we would like to do.”
The company is at a “pivotal point,” Camejo said, as it tries to make a name for itself in a market full of bigger and older brands.
Scrubs for men, actually, are on their mind. But “they’ll just have to wait their turn,” Camejo said. “Women first.”
“We just kind of scratch our heads, like, what can we do?” said Camejo. “We’re different, but again it’s that not knowing, or lack of knowledge, so we’re trying to find people to help us explore how to get to the next level ... there’s so much to learn about angel investors and all this stuff.”
They considered trying out for “Shark Tank,” but that’s near impossible for two working moms with very young children. Camejo’s youngest is nine months old.
“We’ve never really had a time where we both haven’t been pregnant and pumping. So I think now that our kids are, fingers crossed, getting a little bit more stable, we can travel,” Camejo said.
“We went to a trade show to show our product and that was so difficult, trying to arrange the child care. We actually ended up bringing Christine’s youngest kid along because she was still breastfeeding and that was such a huge commitment.”
“I would love to go and be on ‘Shark Tank’ and get everything ready for that, but maybe when our kids are sleeping through the night and child care isn’t a huge hurdle.”
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