Welcome to Femtech Friday! Today we are going to cover the topic of menopause, a natural part of all women’s life that is not talked about enough. Menopause is defined as the phase when a woman stops having regular periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally. This process usually happens when the female reproductive system decreases the amount of sexual hormones it produces and the ovaries stop releasing an egg every month.
Usually, menopause takes a few months or even years to occur, although sometimes periods can stop suddenly. It usually occurs between the age of 45 and 55, though some women may experience it in their 40s, and it may be induced by some health conditions or surgeries, and treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The first stages of menopause may be accompanied by some severe symptoms, including hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, but also mental health symptoms such as sleeping difficulties, mood swings, anxiety or depression and reduced sex drive. These symptoms may last for years after a woman’s last period, and their intensity varies greatly across individuals.
Although menopause is a natural stage of every woman’s life, symptoms can impact on quality of life and therefore should be addressed. Usual strategies include hormone replacement therapies (to replace hormones that are at lower levels), vaginal creams or lubricants to help with vaginal dryness, and changes in lifestyle and diet to maintain fitness. Psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy can also help women during this transition.
By 2025, there will be over a billion women experiencing menopause in the world and yet support for symptoms is not always available or accessible. That’s why some Femtech companies have made it their mission to improve this important transition in women’s life. In the future, we envision more menopausal care solutions also being offered by employers as women over the age of 50 are the fastest growing group in the workforce, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Apps tracking hormones, gadgets combatting hot flushes, and community support group apps are some of the currently available products in this market. Going forward, genetic and hormonal testing as well as AI-driven technologies could help personalise hormone replacement therapies or accompany women through life-style changes to lower their risk of heart, bone, and metabolic disease.
Would you like to know more about what Femtech companies are doing for menopause? Check out this insightful article!
Also keep an eye on new ventures that are innovating in the space: