News
Menopausal women to gain right to flexible working under Labour plans
Firms will be asked to provide flexible working for menopausal women under Labour’s workplace reforms, aimed at improving retention and boosting the economy.
Ministers believe letting female staff experiencing symptoms work from home or adjust hours will help them stay in jobs longer, while helping businesses retain skilled workers.
One in 10 women leave work during menopause due to severe symptoms, which can include anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, hot flushes and difficulty concentrating.
A government-commissioned review last month estimated the cost of women leaving work due to symptoms at £1.5bn a year.
The review also calculated annual losses of £191m from sick leave and £22.4m from presenteeism – when employees work despite severe symptoms.
Official figures show a 5 per cent rise in female employment could add up to £125bn a year to the UK economy.
Under the Employment Rights Bill, now in its final stages in Parliament, firms with 250 or more staff will be legally required to introduce “menopause action plans” from 2027.
Smaller companies will be encouraged to follow voluntarily. From next year, all businesses will be able to introduce plans voluntarily with government guidance.
The Department for Work and Pensions review reported that “women say flexible working patterns would make menopause more manageable.”
The government’s Office for Equality and Opportunity said the plans would “ensure that every organisation benefits from harnessing the talent, creativity and brilliance of women in their workforce.”
“In the process of producing their plans, employers will be prompted to select from a range of actions that research has shown to be effective.
“We know that there are a number of actions that can be beneficial for employees in a range of circumstances. We anticipate that flexible working will form part of this work.
“For example, flexible working can help people manage long-term health conditions, such as the more debilitating symptoms of menopause.”
The office added that flexible working “helps people achieve a better work life balance, which can lead to happier, healthier and more productive employees.
“It can also help people stay in work whilst navigating a range of circumstances, which may include women going through the menopause.”
The Co-op group is one of a number of firms to have already introduced a formal menopause policy.
The retailer’s chief people officer has been working with No10 to share the experiences of its female workers.
Co-op said it was “proud to support colleagues at every life stage, and we welcome the government’s renewed focus on workplace rights, particularly around menopause and reproductive health.”
Its support includes dedicated menopause colleague groups, peer support, regular coffee mornings, guidance for staff and managers, and tailored support plans.
The government wants to lift overall employment to 80 per cent from 75.3 per cent for people aged 16 to 64.
The DWP review called understanding the workplace impact of menopause “ever more crucial” to hitting this target.
It said there is “considerable evidence that some women going through menopause experience symptoms which can impair their confidence and well-being at work and, to a lesser extent, their ability to effectively do their jobs.”
Labour market participation among women is increasing, with 4.6m economically active women aged 50 to 64 last year and 5.4m aged 35 to 49.
Menopause typically affects women aged between 45 and 55, with average onset at 51.
The reforms are part of wider workers’ rights plans overseen by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, including day-one flexible working requests and the right to disconnect from out-of-hours work communication.
Ministers will consult employers, trade unions and other groups on flexible working this winter, with implementation due in 2027. The right to switch off is also scheduled for 2027 following consultation.
The TUC has welcomed the flexible working proposals but wants the government to add an advertising duty requiring employers to state flexible working terms in job adverts.
A TUC poll this year found 74 per cent of voters back easier access to flexible working, including 63 per cent of Reform voters and 64 per cent of Conservative voters, while 12 per cent oppose the policy.
Light exercise and less sitting may reduce pregnant women’s risk of serious blood pressure complications, according to a new study.
Researchers have proposed a daily activity and sleep guide that they say was linked to a nearly 30 per cent lower risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
The suggested pattern includes fewer than eight hours of sedentary time, at least seven hours of light physical activity, around 22 minutes of more intense activity and nearly nine hours of sleep.
The University of Iowa-led study examined the daily behaviours of 470 pregnant women across all stages of pregnancy.
Participants wore monitors that measured physical activity over 24-hour periods and recorded how long they spent asleep.
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy include chronic high blood pressure, gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia.
Gestational hypertension is high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy, while pre-eclampsia is a potentially serious condition involving high blood pressure and signs that organs may be affected.
Sedentary behaviour means being mostly inactive, such as sitting or lying down.
Light physical activity can include casual walking, moving around the home or standing.
Moderate to vigorous activity includes movement such as brisk walking, where breathing and heart rate increase.
Kara Whitaker, associate professor in the department of health, sport, and human physiology at Iowa and corresponding author of the study, said: “We are identifying the optimal composition of movement behaviours across the day associated with the lowest risk of developing HDP and the most improved health outcomes.
“This blueprint holds for each and every trimester of pregnancy.”
Study participants were enrolled at sites in Iowa City, Pittsburgh and Morgantown, West Virginia.
The women wore activity and sleep monitors for at least one week during each trimester of pregnancy.
Four in five participants were non-Hispanic white and nearly a quarter lived in rural areas.
The data showed a steep rise in risk among pregnant women who were sedentary for more than 10 hours a day.
Women who increased light physical activity to at least four hours a day reduced their risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy to 15 per cent from 30 per cent.
Whitaker said: “Just moving around more seems to have significant health benefits.
“And I think it also may be a more feasible target for women who are pregnant who are not exercising regularly.”
The researchers said they were surprised that longer durations of moderate to vigorous physical activity did not appear to provide additional benefit.
Sleep beyond a certain duration also did not appear to bring major further benefits.
Whitaker said: “Through this study, we are providing evidence that reducing sedentary behaviour and engaging in light physical activity are important, and maybe more important, when it comes to pregnancy and health.”
The findings may be relevant beyond pregnancy because clinical research has shown that women who develop hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are more than twice as likely to develop heart disease later in life.
Cardiovascular disease includes conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, such as heart disease and stroke.
Whitaker said: “We know that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women, and if we can intervene in pregnancy and prevent women from developing a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, we are putting them on a better trajectory, away from cardiovascular disease and toward more optimal cardiovascular health.”
The study was published online on June 10.
A second study, published online on May 27, looked more closely at the ratio and type of sedentary behaviour and light physical activity linked to a lower risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
Whitaker is a lead co-author on that study.
Co-authors in the June 10 study include Alex Crisp, Jaemyung Kim, Karina Smith, Donna Santillan, Mark Santillan and Bridget Zimmerman, from Iowa; Jacob Gallagher, from Iowa State University; Melissa Jones, from Oakland University in Michigan; Bethany Barone Gibbs, Katrina Wilhite, Alexis Thrower and Iqra Sheikh, from West Virginia University; and Sabera Rahman, Janet Catov, Christopher Kline and Maisa Feghali, from the University of Pittsburgh.
The National Institutes of Health, the University of Iowa Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute funded the research.
We are excited to reveal the winners of the third annual Femtech World Awards.
The winners were announced at a virtual event this afternoon attended by shortlisted companies, along with sponsors and judges.
The event welcomed guests from the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
Thank you to all 174 entries, as well as the sponsors for making the event possible.
See you in 2027!
Femtech World Awards 2026 Winners
Winner:
Shortlisted:
IVI RMA x Juno Genetics
Natural Cycles
Winner:
Highly commended:
U-Ploid
Shortlisted:
Hello Inside
Winner:
WISE HF, led by Prof. Mary Ryder
Highly commended:
Cardiac College for Women
Shortlisted:
Hyvelle Ferguson-Davis
CognitiveCare
Winner:
Highly commended:
Youterus
Shortlisted:
ŌURA
Winner:
Shortlisted:
LeanShield by ParrotPal Group
Perigen
Winner:
Shortlisted:
Body Moody
Looop
Winner:
Shortlisted:
Owning Your Menopause
Womeno
Winner:
Shortlisted:
The Blue Box
Celbrea
Winner:
Shortlisted:
HealCycle
Mor
Winner:
Shortlisted:
HRC Fertility
Mira
Pregnant women’s expectations about postpartum sleep may predict sleep quality after birth, outweighing prior sleep and psychiatric history, a study suggests.
The findings suggest attitudes and beliefs about sleep during pregnancy could be a modifiable risk factor for postpartum sleep concerns.
They also indicate that, among women expecting the poorest sleep, higher postpartum anxiety may further worsen sleep quality.
Sammy Dhaliwal, lead author is clinical health psychologist and research fellow in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dhaliwal said: “Most pregnant women in our sample anticipated poor postpartum sleep before it occurred, and it was striking that those expectations predicted worse sleep outcomes even after accounting for factors such as prior sleep disorders, psychiatric history, and number of previous births.
“This suggests that attitudes and beliefs about sleep during pregnancy may represent a modifiable target for early intervention before postpartum sleep problems emerge.”
Sleep disturbance affects an estimated 60 to 80 per cent of postpartum women and is linked to a higher risk of depression and anxiety.
Researchers said it is often regarded as an expected part of life after childbirth rather than a health issue that may be addressed earlier.
The study enrolled 432 pregnant women at about 24 weeks of gestation, meaning around 24 weeks into pregnancy.
Participants completed measures of their expectations about postpartum sleep, current sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and mood using validated depression and anxiety scales.
Assessments were repeated at six, 12 and 24 weeks postpartum.
A subset of 49 women also wore wrist actigraphy devices at six to eight weeks postpartum.
Actigraphy uses a wearable device, similar to a watch, to estimate sleep and wake patterns based on movement.
The results showed that 70 per cent of pregnant women, or 301 of 432 participants, expected poor sleep in the postpartum period.
Researchers found that predicted sleep disruption during pregnancy was a significant predictor of postpartum sleep concerns.
Among first-time pregnant women without prior health concerns, those who expected greater sleep disturbance had significantly more disrupted sleep after birth, measured by both actigraphy and self-report.
Among women who expected the worst sleep quality, higher postpartum anxiety significantly worsened both measured sleep and self-reported sleep, independent of anxiety levels during pregnancy.
Dhaliwal said the findings point to two possible areas for intervention: addressing sleep-related beliefs during pregnancy and treating postpartum anxiety.
Dhaliwal said: “Postpartum sleep disruption is often treated only after problems develop, but our findings suggest there may be an opportunity to intervene earlier during pregnancy.
“Addressing sleep-related beliefs and postpartum anxiety during prenatal and postpartum care may help improve sleep and emotional well-being in new mothers.”
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