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An independent inquiry will be launched into Leeds maternity services following a parent-led campaign over care failures stretching back 14 years. Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was deeply concerned about problems at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, calling it “a real outlier” for perinatal mortality — deaths around the time of birth — compared [...]

Women who breastfeed develop protective immune cells that help guard against breast cancer, with effects lasting for more than 30 years, new research shows. The study found that specialised T-cells — immune cells that fight disease — remain in breast tissue long after pregnancy and provide lasting protection, particularly against triple-negative breast cancer, one of [...]

By Xisca Borrás, Partner – Life sciences regulatory and Ellie Handy, Senior Associate – Life sciences regulatory, Bristows As femtech is intrinsically linked to health needs, a key question for femtech products is whether they are regulated as medical devices or merely consumer products. Additionally, many femtech products are embracing the use of artificial intelligence [...]

Scientists have developed a powerful new approach to detecting endometriosis which could transform how the disease is researched, diagnosed and treated. In a world-first clinical study, scientists tested a pioneering diagnostic process which involves directly isolating menstrual blood-derived stem cells (MenSCs) from menstrual blood samples for analysis, rather than analysing cultured cells. Scientists believe MenSCs [...]

FinDBest IVF is a global B2B platform that connects manufacturers of fertility and reproductive health devices with IVF-specialist distributors in over 150 countries. We simplify global expansion, regulatory pathway planning, and distributor onboarding. Each year, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) Congress reveals not just clinical updates, but also clear signals about where the IVF [...]

A five-year, US$4.5m renewal will expand a women’s health careers programme for early-career investigators, strengthening training in sex differences research. The funding supports the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) programme at Emory University and comes from the US National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. BIRCWH develops the next wave [...]

By Xisca Borrás and Ellie Handy of the life sciences regulatory department at Bristows law firm Femtech, short for female technology, is an important and fast growing sector. The EU is a key market for femtech, with five of the top 10 countries for femtech investment located in the EU. Femtech products are developed for [...]

By Dr. Jennifer L. Payne and Alisa Marie Beyer Postpartum depression (PPD) isn’t just the “baby blues.” It’s the most common complication of childbirth, affecting 1 in 5 new mothers, and yet it remains dangerously underdiagnosed, misunderstood, and too often untreated. Baby blues vs. postpartum depression Up to 80 per cent of new moms experience the baby [...]

TIME Magazine has published its Best Inventions of 2025, spotlighting 300 innovations making the world a better place. Femtech World spoke to some of those addressing unmet needs in women’s health. For 25 years, TIME’s Best Inventions issue has been highlighting the most impactful new products and ideas.  This year, several femtech innovations made the [...]

A new project to develop the women's health research leaders of the future has received significant backing. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has received a US$4.5m, five-year K12 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a pioneering programme that will train the next generation of leaders in women’s health [...]