24/06/2025
Originally published by FemTech World.
As the conversation around menopause continues to gain long-overdue visibility, FemTech is playing a pivotal role in redefining how this life stage is experienced, tracked, and managed. While the sector has long championed innovation in areas like fertility, pelvic health, and cycle tracking, it’s now shifting gears, bringing the same precision and personalisation to one of the most underserved phases of a woman’s health journey: menopause.
Popular wearable tech like Apple Watch, WHOOP, and Garmin, once seen primarily as fitness companions, are now evolving to support women navigating perimenopause and menopause. From AI-powered coaching to personalised symptom tracking, these devices are being reimagined to offer meaningful insights into sleep disturbances, temperature fluctuations, heart rate variability, and more — all critical markers during the menopausal transition.
In a space where traditional healthcare has often left women behind, this marks a significant shift: empowering women with the data and tools they need to take control of their midlife health.
Perimenopause and menopause
Perimenopause is the transitional phase leading to menopause; the natural biological process that symbolises the body producing less oestrogen, and the end of a woman’s menstrual cycles and reproductive years. The transition generally occurs for women in their mid-to-late 40s, however, it can start much earlier, and many women enter the transitional phase with no control over their hormonal changes and physical symptoms, a limited understanding, and a lack of individualised support.
The complex transition of perimenopause, and subsequently menopause, comes with its complicated and unpredictable range of symptoms including hot flashes, mood swings, sleep disturbance, weight gain, changes in sexual health and anxiety. All of which can have a negative impact on women in their daily lives.
Such symptoms are a result of fluctuating hormone levels which vary from person to person, making the transition difficult to understand and analyse from a broader perspective. Essentially, one solution does not fit all. Wearable devices are now offering hormone-sensitive tracking which will allow women to track their own personal changes so that they are more informed and better placed to manage and combat their individual symptoms.
The Oura Ring
The Oura Ring, originally renowned for its advanced sleep and recovery tracking, has now developed into a smart ally for women experiencing perimenopause. The wearable device is marketed as a tool for women, to validate that physiological changes have begun and to provide detailed data that allows users to make informed lifestyle decisions.
In 2024, Oura introduced features specifically designed to target women undergoing this transitional phase and published its Perimenopause Report.
Oura introduced 17 new ‘perimenopause-specific tags’ that allow users to log symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, and hormone replacement therapy usage. Over time, patterns and triggers can be identified and this data can be translated into visual tools such as charts and graphs, allowing users to understand which variables are having the biggest impact and whether lifestyle changes can be made.
The ring also incorporates biometric monitoring, meaning that it continuously tracks variables that are affected by hormonal changes such as body temperature, heart rate variability, resting heart rate, and sleep quality. Women are likely to experience greater stress levels and sleep disturbances during perimenopause. By recognising patterns in their stress response and monitoring such metrics, women are provided with a better insight into how the transition is impacting the body and when is best to prioritise rest and self-care.
As well as having a better understanding of the body’s behaviour, Oura turns the data into actionable insights for its users. Women may download a six-month report of their ‘Cycle Insights’ including cycle length, period length, temperature variation, cycle phases, and symptom tags. Not only is a longer, more irregular cycle an indication that a woman may have entered perimenopause, but such insights allow women to constructively discuss their symptoms with healthcare professionals and find a way of managing them, for example by introducing supplements or taking medication such as hormone replacement therapy.
The future of FemTech
Over 100,000 women are contributing to Oura’s perimenopause research, and the company is also partnering with other companies and experts in women’s health. Partners include Proov; a company offering patented, FDA-cleared devices for at-home hormone testing and tracking, and Clue; a cycle tracking app and a trusted menstrual health resource, amongst many others.
Historically, the lack of awareness and stigma surrounding women’s health issues has meant that the industry has been underserved and the women who undergo these changes inadequately provided for. It is clear that more companies are now choosing to invest in developments beyond those aimed at fertility and pregnancy, to support women through all stages of life.
Oura’s work is part of a much greater movement in FemTech that concentrates on personalised, data-driven care. A report published by Emergen Research stated that the FemTech market is predicted to reach $60.1 billion by 2027, supported by the growing representation of women in the tech community, and the advancement of startups and investment in the space.
As FemTech continues to mature, intellectual property is becoming a key driver of progress. The surge in menopause-focused innovation is increasingly backed by patents, trade secrets, and other forms of registered IP that not only protect novel ideas but also signal a deepening commitment to long-term research and impact. As more companies stake claims in this evolving space, patents will play a pivotal role in shaping the competitive landscape. Importantly, they will encourage further breakthroughs and ensure women entering midlife can access tools as sophisticated and nuanced as the changes they’re navigating.
This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice. Please contact Reddie & Grose LLP for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.
