FemTech World

That surge in attention, sometimes dubbed “healthmaxxing,” is changing how women find, evaluate and act on health information, and it is starting to reshape the relationship between patients, clinicians and the companies building products for this market. For providers, the shift means patients are arriving better informed but also more exposed to unverified claims, putting pressure on clinicians to engage with online narratives rather than dismiss them.

The trend has raised concerns about the quality and safety of care for mothers and babies in understaffed maternity units. During 2025-26, 1,669 midwives aged 34 or under left the health service in England, representing 57 per cent of the 2,949 midwives of all ages who resigned. The pressures of maternity care, including increasingly complex childbirth and the risks involved, are thought to be among the factors behind the trend.

Women aged 18 to 29 were more likely than young men to use online influencers for health information. The topics included beauty, alternative medicine, mental health, weight loss and fitness. The Pew Research study found that 57 per cent of women aged 18 to 29 said they get health and wellness information from online influencers, 10 percentage points higher than young men.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society for Women’s Health Research and the Women First Research Coalition have unveiled the National Strategy to Close the Women’s Health Gap. The framework calls for a coordinated national effort to improve women’s health research, care and outcomes. It says women make up more than half of the US population, but their health needs across conditions and life stages have been understudied and underserved for decades.

The findings expose a privacy divide in femtech, where users often trust apps with highly sensitive reproductive health information. The research was carried out by Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included team, which tested several period tracking apps. It found that Stardust, a period tracker used by millions, shared users’ reproductive health data with analytics companies, a practice the research said contrasted with its privacy-first marketing.

The funding round was led by Ada Ventures, with participation from Artesian, Entrepreneur First and Illumina Accelerator. The women’s health startup said the seed funding will support the launch of its first CLIA-certified sequencing laboratory in Oakland, California, and a new clinical vaginal microbiome and STI test for healthcare providers. CLIA certification refers to US laboratory standards for testing human samples used in diagnosis, prevention or treatment decisions.

The study looked at why Black African and Black Caribbean women are less likely than white women to attend breast screening. Researchers at the University of Surrey held focus groups and interviews with 47 Black African and Black Caribbean women aged 50 to 71. Women in this age group are routinely invited for NHS breast screening. The researchers said only 45 per cent of Black women attend screening, compared with 63 per cent of white women.

Healthcare companies have spent the last two years hearing the same advice: get AI into your product. Few have been told what that actually takes. Most default to the fastest option. Plug in a general-purpose model, wrap it in a chat window, and call the box checked. It looks like progress on a roadmap slide. It rarely holds up once a real patient is on the other end of it.

The findings suggest uncertainty remains common, largely because of knowledge gaps, symptom confusion and difficulty getting confirmation or care. Perimenopause is the transitional stage before a woman’s final period, when hormone levels fluctuate and symptoms can change over time. It usually begins in the mid-40s, although timing varies widely, and can last for around four to eight years.

Healthcare companies have spent the last two years hearing the same advice: get AI into your product. Few have been told what that actually takes. Most default to the fastest option. Plug in a general-purpose model, wrap it in a chat window, and call the box checked. It looks like progress on a roadmap slide. It rarely holds up once a real patient is on the other end of it.