Womankind

The government has renewed its commitment to women's health. But how much will really change in practice? The UK government published a renewed Women's Health Strategy in April 2026, setting out reforms aimed at addressing longstanding failures in how the NHS identifies, assesses and treats women. The strategy was published by the Department of Health and Social Care alongside NHS England, and covers gynaecological care, menopause support, pain management, menstrual health ed

Millions of women are living with perimenopause without knowing that is what it is. A study published earlier this year in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society, has found a striking gap between the symptoms women associate with perimenopause and the symptoms they actually experience. The research, conducted in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and the women's health app Flo, surveyed 17,494 women from 158 countries and is the largest global study of perimenopause know

What happens in the gut does not stay in the gut, especially when it comes to hormones. Most women are aware that oestrogen is produced by the ovaries. Fewer know that the gut plays a significant role in determining how much oestrogen actually circulates in the body at any given time. A review published earlier this year in the journal Nutrients has brought new attention to a mechanism that sits at the intersection of gut health and hormonal health, with particular relevance

A name that was always misleading has finally been changed. A condition affecting 1 in 8 women worldwide has officially been given a new name. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is now polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), following a 14-year global consultation process involving 56 patient and professional organisations. The name change was published in The Lancet this week and announced at the European Congress of Endocrinology. Why the old name was a problem The n

A menopause hormone may be more relevant to brain health than previously understood. Women account for approximately two-thirds of all Alzheimer's cases. Researchers have long suspected that the hormonal changes of menopause play a role in that disparity, but a study published earlier this year in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience suggests the hormone responsible may not be the one most people would expect. What is FSH? Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is produced by the pitu