December carries a particular kind of intensity for women. While the world celebrates the season, many women are quietly carrying the mental load, the emotional labour, and the invisible work that makes the holidays run smoothly. It is supposed to be a time of joy, yet for so many it becomes the month where exhaustion peaks.

If you’ve ever found yourself wide awake at 3am, wondering why sleep feels impossible during midlife, you are not alone. For many women, perimenopause and menopause bring a wave of sleep disturbances. Research shows that declining oestrogen and progesterone play a significant role in insomnia, restless nights, and poor-quality sleep. Add to that hot flashes, night sweats, and changes in mood, and it’s no surprise that up to 60% of women in menopause report significant sleep problems.

October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time when the spotlight turns toward one of the most pressing health issues women face. Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide, but early detection and informed choices can make all the difference. At HER, we believe awareness must be paired with action because empowerment begins with knowing what we can do for our health today.

When it comes to menopause and perimenopause, hormone therapy is one of the most misunderstood areas of women’s health. For years, misinformation and fear have clouded the conversation around menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), leaving many women confused about what’s safe, what’s effective, and what’s just clever marketing.

One of the biggest sources of confusion? “Bioidentical hormones.”

Perimenopause isn’t a whisper. For many women, it roars.

Mood swings. Brain fog. Sleep disruption. Weight fluctuations. A sudden intolerance to foods that never used to be a problem. These aren’t just random symptoms, they’re your body’s way of saying, something is shifting. And that shift is hormonal.

For decades, centuries, even, modern medicine has defaulted to a male blueprint. From clinical trials that excluded women to research that neglected the menstrual cycle, the female body has been treated as a deviation from the norm, rather than a standard in its own right. Not only did this oversight skewed data; it has delayed diagnoses, deepened suffering, and left many women navigating a system that was never built with them in mind.

For too long, women’s hormones have been blamed, dismissed, or brushed aside as if “being hormonal” were an insult, a punchline, or a reason to be ignored. But female hormones are not a flaw in the system. They are the system. And yet, they continue to be treated as side notes in both medical care and cultural conversations.