Care & services

AI is increasingly being leveraged to address challenges in breast cancer care, from a “second set of eyes” during screening to enabling more personalised treatments. Innovators say it can not only deliver better outcomes, but also make medicine more accurate and accessible. Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women globally, affecting around two million [...]

Pregnant women are being urged to get vaccinated against RSV, as NHS England warns of rising cases and expands pharmacy access for those from 28 weeks. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common infection that can cause serious breathing problems, especially in babies and young children. It is a leading cause of infant death worldwide [...]

New mothers can now access breastfeeding support 24 hours a day after the government extended a national helpline. The National Breastfeeding Helpline provides free, evidence-based information day and night – supporting families to overcome challenges that might prevent mothers from successfully breastfeeding their baby. Breastfeeding can take time to establish, with some mothers worrying if [...]

An NHS England report has identified significant concerns about the safety and quality of maternity care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The findings, published after a visit in March, included 101 recommendations to improve the quality of care and ensure the wellbeing of mothers and babies. Key issues involved staffing problems, a “challenging” culture, [...]

Aa new initiative to help femtech start-ups bring their innovations to market more quickly has been launched in Canada. The Women’s Health Medical Pathway (wHealth MedPath) aims to close a key gap in support for women’s health companies looking to commercialise their products. The programme has been set up by Femtech Canada in collaboration with [...]

Language barriers are putting both patients and healthcare professionals at risk, a new survey has found. The revealed that with two-thirds (65 per cent) of healthcare workers in female care are worried about safeguarding when it comes to language barriers – while 37 per cent believe that non-English speaking women receive a poorer standard of [...]

By Morgan Rose, CNM, WHNP-BC, IBCLC | Chief Science Officer, Ema AI is not a feature. It’s infrastructure. That’s the thesis behind Ema’s newly launched Women’s Health AI Pilot, a fully funded programme aimed at rethinking how intelligence is integrated, not bolted on, across care, wellness, and diagnostics. And it’s not hypothetical. Five companies will [...]

New research suggests that one in three eligible women in the US skip recommended mammograms - leading to late-stage breast cancer diagnosis, doubling treatment costs and increasing risk. Dr. Rani Aravamudhan, senior medical director at Nomi Health, speaks to Femtech World about addressing the problem, by helping employers and healthcare providers to reach women eligible [...]

Removing a US$45 patient fee led to a significant rise in access to 3D mammography, with the greatest benefits seen among racial minorities and non-English speakers, new research suggests. Use of digital breast tomosynthesis – a type of 3D mammogram that provides clearer images to aid cancer detection and reduce false positives – rose by [...]

Health secretary Wes Streeting has launched a national investigation into England’s worst-performing maternity units after a series of scandals involving baby deaths and maternal harm. The review will focus on up to 10 of the most underperforming maternity and neonatal services, including those in Leeds, Sussex, Gloucester, and Mid and South Essex. It will begin [...]