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Researchers develop new period product that solidifies blood
The biomaterial could improve the performance of current period products, including pads and menstrual cups
A team of US researchers has developed a biomaterial designed to improve the performance of current period products by making the blood harder to spill out.
Researchers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University developed the blood absorbent biomaterial with the aim of improving the performance of menstrual products by minimising blood leakage and spilling.
The innovation, the team says, should help prevent infection, while also being environmentally friendly.
Lab leader Bryan Hsu, assistant professor of biological sciences, wanted his next project to focus on an area of research that had long been neglected and that’s when he landed on menstruation.
“It’s something that people don’t feel comfortable talking about, and that’s maybe an indication of why it hasn’t gotten enough attention,” he explained.
Menstrual products have evolved little during the last century. The primary products available today were developed nearly 100 years ago: the disposable menstrual pad in 1888, the tampon in 1933, and the menstrual cup in 1937.
Postdoctoral associate Harsimran Kaur, who led the project, said: “There is very little awareness about the importance of good menstrual care, and poor practices can negatively affect women’s health. This is an area that impacts women but isn’t often given attention.”
Harsimran Kaur, Bryan Hsu, and Rogerio Bataglioli / Photo by Jenise Jacques for Virginia Tech
Hsu and the team used an alginate-glycerol powder formula that, when added to a traditional menstrual pad, allows the accumulated blood to turn into a gel. The pad can then absorb more blood and leak less than a traditional pad.
“A pad with the powder formula absorbs the blood, and if you squeeze it, it doesn’t come back out. But in a normal menstrual pad, if you do the same experiment, it comes right back out,” he explained.
When the powder formula is added to a cotton coil and inserted into a menstrual cup or disc, the blood collected there also turns into a gel, eliminating the mess when removing or changing the cup or disc.
Carrie Champine, board-certified obstetrician and gynaecologist who collaborated with the team, said: “Leakage is a fear for all users of menstrual hygiene products. All of us have experienced it, leading to embarrassment and missed school days and workdays.
“Users of menstrual products are always looking for products that are comfortable and tailored to their body and flow patterns, with minimal risk of leakage or menstrual product failure.”
Findings have shown the powder formulation, which is derived from natural sources, seaweed, and sugar alcohol, is biodegradable and safe to use.
“It’s found everywhere in foods and it’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so it’s considered safe,” said Hsu. “It is in the boba tea or the cheap sushi you get in restaurants.”
Unlike most used period products, which take over 500 years to biodegrade, this method is also environmentally friendly, the researcher noted.
Women’s health progress
According Hsu, as of 2020, 46 per cent of women in Virginia are of menstrual age, which is 26 per cent of all Virginians, and roughly a fourth of the state’s total population. While menstruation is not a disease, it does impact absenteeism in the workplace and in school.
“A woman will have a period for approximately five days every 30 days throughout her lifetime, which is roughly 2,200 days, or 6.2 years of her life,” he explained. “For comparison, the average American spends 8.3 years watching television and 4.5 years eating.
“Women are half the population and go through menstruation every month. It’s a natural process that dramatically affects quality of life. For some, it can be debilitating,” he added.
Hsu sees this as just the beginning of his venture into promoting women’s health issues.
“I think women’s health is becoming more and more something people want to research. This is kind of my first step in a series of things to take care of women.”
His colleague, postdoctoral associate Rogerio Bataglioli, who led the project, is hopeful for new opportunities in the design of menstrual products.
“Using biomaterials can expand the potential functionality of these menstrual products,” Bataglioli said.
“Women face an array of challenges related to menstrual health, and we think using advanced functional materials can help us come up with innovative solutions.”
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A new Female Health Hub launched by the English FA will support women and girls in grassroots football in England with trusted advice on health issues affecting play.
The hub brings together expert-backed guidance, practical tools and player insights in one place, giving women and girls practical advice and reassurance on female health in football.
It has four core aims: to help women and girls better understand their bodies and how female health affects performance and participation, to educate players on key health topics and when to seek further advice or support, to provide practical strategies to help navigate common female health challenges, and to help break down taboos and normalise conversations around female health in football.
Users of the hub will also be able to hear directly from members of the England women’s national team, who share their own experiences of navigating female health matters while playing at the highest level of the game.
“Our ambition is to create a game where women and girls can thrive,” said Sue Day, the FA’s director of women’s football.
“To achieve that, it’s essential that players feel supported in environments that understand and respond to their female health needs.
“We’ve heard directly from grassroots players that they want better information and support around female health, but that they often don’t know where to find it.
“The launch of the Female Health Hub marks an important step in changing the landscape.
“We want every player to feel confident in her own skin and supported without judgment, so she can feel empowered by her body, rather than held back by it.”
The platform was launched following research conducted by the FA that highlighted the need for better education and support around female health in football.
According to the FA, 88 per cent of adult players surveyed said their menstrual cycle has an impact on their ability to train or play, but 86 per cent reported they had never received education about the menstrual cycle in relation to football performance and training.
The research also found 64 per cent of women experience issues related to sports bras or breast health while playing football, despite sports bras being considered one of the most important pieces of playing kit.
Players also expressed strong interest in learning more about injury prevention, at 87 per cent, nutrition, at 84 per cent, and mental health, at 77 per cent, in relation to female health.
The first phase of the Female Health Hub focuses on three of the most requested topics: menstrual health, breast health and injury resilience, with further content to follow, including nutrition and pelvic health guidance.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has referred to the women’s health strategy as a ‘missed opportunity’ to address maternity services.
The renewed strategy was released by the government this week, with the aim of putting women’s experiences at the centre of care and ensuring they are “better heard and served”.
However, the government stated that because of ongoing investigations into maternity services across the country, the strategy “does not seek to address safety in maternity and neonatal services”.
The RCM described this as a “missed opportunity” and urged the government to ensure that, following the inquiries, maternity is placed “at the very heart” of the strategy.
Gill Walton, RCM chief executive, said the college was “deeply disappointed” that maternity services “do not feature as a headline priority” in the renewed strategy.
She said: “This is a significant missed opportunity and one that is very difficult to understand.
“Pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period are not a footnote in women’s health – they are one of the most significant and consequential phases of a woman’s life.
“A strategy that treats maternity as an afterthought is not truly a women’s health strategy at all. It is exactly the kind of thinking that has allowed maternity services to reach the point they are at today.”
Walton acknowledged that the strategy contained commitments on ensuring women’s voices shape their care, on supporting families through pregnancy loss and on the principle that services should be held accountable when they fail to listen to women.
She added: “But a strategy that addresses one part of women’s health while leaving maternity care behind is only doing half the job.”
Walton urged the government to ensure that this is addressed when the ongoing investigations into maternity care conclude, with any recommendations placed “at the very heart of this strategy with the seriousness and urgency that women, families and midwives deserve”.
In the foreword to the renewed plans, health and social care secretary Wes Streeting referred to the ongoing independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation as action being taken by the government to improve safety in maternity services.
The strategy also refers to the new National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Streeting, which aims to help deliver “safer, more equitable care” for women, babies and families.
The foreword said that, because of ongoing initiatives, it was “important that this work continues without restriction and that the government can properly respond to the findings”.
It added: “This renewed women’s health strategy therefore does not seek to address safety in maternity and neonatal services other than that related to women’s health before and during pregnancy and the actions we are taking immediately to improve maternity and neonatal care.”
The strategy does, however, include plans to prioritise health education in schools, communities and healthcare settings to “empower women” with the “knowledge and tools they need to help control their fertility” and “prepare for the best pregnancy outcomes.
It also promises to provide women with access to “safe and high-quality contraception, abortion care, fertility services, preconception care and support after pregnancy loss in convenient settings.
Article produced in association with London Pregnancy Clinic and Jeen Health
For the majority of couples planning a pregnancy, genetic testing is not something they think about until a problem arises.
Pre-conception genetic carrier screening challenges this approach by identifying risk before pregnancy begins.
As panel sizes have grown and at-home testing options have become widely available, carrier screening is transitioning from a niche clinical referral into a mainstream component of reproductive planning.
What Carrier Screening Tests For
Being a carrier of a genetic condition means carrying one copy of a variant in a gene associated with that condition, without being affected by it.
In most cases, carriers are entirely unaware of their status.
The clinical significance of carrier status emerges when both members of a couple carry a variant in the same gene: in this scenario, each pregnancy carries a one in four chance of resulting in a child who inherits two copies of the variant and is affected by the condition.
The conditions most frequently included in expanded carrier screening panels include cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), fragile X syndrome, sickle cell disease, and a range of metabolic and enzyme deficiency disorders.
The Beacon 787 carrier test, offered by Jeen Health, screens for 787 conditions from a single sample, making it one of the most comprehensive panels currently available to UK families.
Who Is Most Likely to Benefit
Any couple planning a pregnancy can consider carrier screening. It is particularly relevant for:
- Couples with a family history of a known inherited condition
- Those from populations with higher carrier frequencies for specific conditions, including Ashkenazi Jewish, South Asian and African communities
- Couples pursuing fertility treatment, where genetic information informs treatment planning
- Those who wish to have the most complete picture of their reproductive health before conception
Importantly, being a carrier of a condition does not mean a child will be affected. It means there is a defined statistical risk that can be quantified, discussed and planned for with appropriate clinical support.
How the Test Is Performed
Carrier screening is typically carried out on a blood or saliva sample.
For at-home options such as the testing offered by Jeen Health, a cheek swab collection kit is dispatched to the patient, the sample is returned by post, and results are delivered digitally within a defined turnaround period.
In-clinic carrier testing may use a blood draw and provides the advantage of immediate access to a clinical consultation at the point of result delivery.
London Pregnancy Clinic offers genetics counselling through its partnership with Jeen Health, allowing couples to receive and contextualise carrier test results with expert support.
Genetic counselling before and after testing is recommended by Genomics England as a standard component of any genomic testing pathway.
What Happens If Both Partners Are Carriers
If both partners are identified as carriers for the same autosomal recessive condition, they are typically offered further counselling to discuss their options.
These may include proceeding naturally with an awareness of the risk, using prenatal diagnosis (CVS or amniocentesis) during pregnancy to test the fetus, or pursuing preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) in the context of IVF, which allows unaffected embryos to be selected before transfer.
The purpose of identifying carrier status before pregnancy is to give couples time to consider these options without the added pressure of an ongoing pregnancy.
Knowledge of carrier status does not remove reproductive choices; it expands the information available when making them.
The Role of Pre-Conception Services
Carrier screening sits within a broader category of pre-conception care that includes fertility assessments, general health optimisation and, where relevant, management of existing conditions before pregnancy begins.
London Pregnancy Clinic offers pre-conception services encompassing fertility investigations, genetics counselling and carrier testing as part of an integrated 0th trimester approach, allowing couples to address genetic and clinical risk factors before their pregnancy starts rather than after.
Disclaimer: This article is produced for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Clinical guidance referenced reflects published NHS, NICE and RCOG standards as at March 2026. Individual circumstances vary; readers are advised to consult a qualified healthcare professional before acting on any information in this article.
This piece was produced in association with London Pregnancy Clinic and Jeen Health, which provided background clinical information for editorial purposes.
Hyperlinks to external sources are included for reference only and do not represent an endorsement of any product, service or organisation.
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