The Women’s Health Innovation Summit (WHIS) has announced that submissions are  open for the 2026 Innovation Showcase, giving early and growth-stage start-ups the  chance to present their solutions to the most influential audience in women’s health.

Taking place October 13–15 at Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Massachusetts, WHIS  brings together more than 1,000 decision-makers from across the women’s health  ecosystem — investors, payers, health systems, pharma leaders, and employers — all  under one roof.

Selected companies will pitch live on stage to an audience with the funding, expertise,  and connections to accelerate their growth.

Past participants have walked away with  investor introductions, commercial partnerships, and clinical collaborations that  moved from conversation to contract.

WHIS is where the women’s health ecosystem comes together to get deals done,” said Sarah Rowlands, marketing director.

“The Innovation Showcase puts promising start ups directly in front of the people who can take them to the next level.”

The showcase sits at the heart of a three-day programme spanning digital health,  therapeutics, diagnostics, and consumer health.

Previous attendees have included  representatives from Mayo Clinic, CVS Health, Eli Lilly, Brigham and Women’s Hospital,  Alumni Ventures, Muse Capital, and Maverick Ventures, among hundreds of others.

Applications are open now. Start-ups can submit at

www.whisusa.com/attend/start-ups

About WHIS

Now in its eighth year, the Women’s Health Innovation Summit is the largest global  gathering of senior leaders shaping the future of women’s health.

Organised by Kisaco  Research, WHIS unites providers, health plans, employers, regulators, pharma,  investors, and innovators to increase deal flow, expand reimbursement, improve  access, and deliver better health outcomes for women at every stage of life.

WHIS 2026 takes place October 13–15 at Encore Boston Harbor, Everett, MA.

Learn more at www.whisusa.com

This summer, WUKA and triple Olympian Hannah Miley MBE are bringing their Period-Positive Pool Party to London Aquatics Centre with one clear mission: to prove that periods should never keep anyone out of the water

At a time when 84 per cent of teenage girls in the UK say their interest in sport declines after starting their period – and nearly 70 per cent report skipping sports or swimming due to menstruation – WUKA’s immersive community event is tackling one of the most overlooked barriers to girls’ participation head-on.

WUKA’s Period-Positive Pool Party was created as a safe, inclusive space for teens to swim on their periods with confidence.

Following a series of sold-out events across the UK, including Eastleigh and Stonehaven in Hannah Miley’s hometown of Aberdeen, the London-based Olympic venue is a result of growing demand from teens and parents seeking supportive, stigma-free spaces to stay active during menstruation.

Why This Matters?

For many young people – particularly those who are not ready to use tampons due to age, comfort, cultural reasons, or parental guidance – swimming during their period can feel inaccessible.

WUKA’s period swimwear offers an alternative designed to provide comfort, coverage, and confidence, helping ensure that periods don’t mean sitting on the sidelines.

The new one-hour London takeover combines swimming, education, and empowerment in one of the UK’s most iconic sporting venues.

Breaking The Stigma While Making A Splash

So much more than a product event, WUKA’s Period-Positive Pool Party is a fully immersive experience featuring a DJ-approved summer playlist, inflatable pool installations, and professional underwater photography capturing barrier-free swimming moments. Every teen will also receive a curated £80 wellness goodie bag, including free WUKA swimwear.

But more than anything, they’re about freedom, confidence, and belonging, ensuring the confidence to swim, period, or not, continues long after they leave the water.

Hannah Miley MBE says: “Being an athlete taught me that your cycle isn’t a weakness, it’s just something to manage.

“Partnering with WUKA for this Pool Party is about showing young swimmers that with the right support and the right kit, they don’t have to press pause on their lives or their sport because of their period.”

WUKA Founder Ruby Raut says: “This is about more than a pool party – it’s about changing what inclusion in sport actually looks like.

“Too many girls step back from swimming and physical activity because of period stigma or lack of options.

“Through community-led events like this, we’re breaking barriers, building confidence, and making sure no one feels excluded from sport because of their cycle.”

Saturday 30th May 2026 | 5–6pm | London Aquatics Centre

Want to join the pool party? Follow this link to buy your tickets

By Women’s HealthX

In recognition of World Maternal Mental Health Day, Women’s HealthX is placing a spotlight on one of the most urgent and under addressed areas in women’s health: maternal mental health and maternity care innovation.

Worldwide, 1 in 5 new mothers experiences a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder, yet up to 7 in 10 hide or downplay their symptoms.

Even within established care frameworks, this creates challenges for timely detection and treatment, highlighting the need for additional tools, insights, and system-level support to prevent long-term consequences for both mother and child.

Women’s HealthX convenes 750+ senior leaders from across the women’s health ecosystem, including pharma & biotech, hospitals, digital health innovators, solution providers, payers, enterprises & policy makers to explore how telehealth, predictive analytics, and digital health platforms are transforming maternal and postnatal care – from AI-driven early risk identification to remote monitoring solutions that keep mothers cognitively and emotionally supported long after they leave the clinic.

Key sessions on Maternity & Maternal Care with key industry leaders:

Key sessions dedicated to maternity and maternal mental health will address critical system challenges and opportunities for innovation, including fragmentation in care delivery, health inequities, and persistent maternal mortality rates in high income countries.

Featured speakers include:

Christina Pardo, medical director, women’s health, Weill Cornell Medicine NewYork Presbyterian, on “Bridge Existing Healthcare Gaps Caused by Fragmentation Between OB/GYN And Birth Workers.”

Gayatri Setia, director of preventive Cardiology, NYCHHC, on “Improve Patient Access to Prevention in Equalities and Discrimination in Maternity and Maternal Care”

Catherine Monk, founding director, Center for the Transition to Parenthood, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, on “Leveraging Developmental Neuroscience to Provide Improved Maternal Care”

Danielle Johnson, chief medical officer, Lindner Center of HOPE, on “Understanding the Scope of Disparities in Perinatal Mental Health”

Kimberley Sampson, chair of OB GYN, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, on “Why Maternal Mortality Persists in High-Income Countries”

Erica Smith, VP value and access, Chiesi, on “Empowering Mothers, Advancing Equity, and Improving Outcomes in Premature Care”

A Call to Action for the Femtech Ecosystem

As femtech continues to mature, maternal mental health represents a critical frontier where technology, data, and clinical insight must converge.

Women’s HealthX provides a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing to accelerate the development and adoption of solutions that deliver measurable impact for mothers and families.

From predictive analytics to personalized, continuous care models, the event underscores a central theme: meaningful transformation in women’s health begins with better data, stronger evidence, and cross sector collaboration.

Special Limited Time Offer

Only 9 days left to register for your chance to win a therapeutic massage at Encore Boston

Women’s HealthX is where the transformation of women’s health begins at its true foundation: data, science, and evidence.

Register your Place Now

About Women’s HealthX

Women’s HealthX is where the transformation of women’s health begins at its true foundation: data, science, and evidence.

It’s the leading event dedicated to closing the sex difference data gap and accelerating breakthroughs through science driven, real world case studies.

Taking place on December 3 to 4, 2026 in Boston, USA, the exhibition will bring together more than 750 healthcare leaders, including clinicians, payers, employers, investors, and policymakers.

7 different stages across 2 days with 150+ expert speakers taking an holistic approach to women’s health.

From fertility, maternity, sexual health, cognitive health, menopause and chronic disease, we address care at every stage of a woman’s life.