It’s 2025.
And we’re still being told to “tough it out”.

To breathe through the cramps.
To smile through the exhaustion.
To just get on with it.

But here’s the thing no one seems to say out loud:
Period pain isn’t a personal weakness. It’s a public health issue.

And the silence? It’s cost us.

The red flags

🚩Women weren’t routinely included in clinical trials until 1993¹
For most of modern medical history, “the average patient” was a man.
That means most pain relief, antidepressants, and even basic medications were tested on male bodies, then handed to women with the assumption we’d respond the same way. Spoiler: we don’t.

🚩Period products were tested using blue dye until 2023²
Because god forbid we actually acknowledge what blood looks like.
For decades, the global menstrual industry pretended menstruation was a soft, clean, blue liquid, and in doing so, it ignored how real products actually perform under real conditions.

🚩Endometriosis patients still wait 7–10 years for a diagnosis³
That’s nearly a decade of being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told “it’s just bad cramps.” Imagine any other chronic pain being left that long. You can’t. Because it wouldn’t be.

🚩Less than 2% of global medical research funding goes to female reproductive health⁴
Half the population. Two percent of funding. You’d think after centuries of hand-waving women’s pain away, we’d have learned something. Apparently not.

🚩Period pain costs the Australian economy over $14 billion a year⁶
Let that sink in. Absenteeism. Reduced productivity. Missed opportunities. Yet it’s still treated as a “private issue”.

🚩 FemTech still makes up under 9% of digital health investment⁵
Despite the fact that women’s health is the biggest untapped opportunity in medicine. You’d think the data alone would light a fire under the industry. Still waiting.

This isn’t niche

We’re not talking about a rare condition or a fringe experience.
We’re talking about half the population.

Half the population bleeding, balancing, and being told to “get on with it”.
Half the population whose symptoms are downplayed.
Whose pain is under-researched.
Whose needs are underfunded.

This isn’t a rant. It’s a factual reality check.

When women’s health is treated as optional, everyone pays the price:

• Girls miss school.
  

• Women miss work.
  

• Mental health spirals.
  

• GP visits spike.
  

• Painkiller dependence rises.
  

And we’re left wondering why burnout feels like the default setting.

The system wasn’t built for us

There’s a reason pain relief doesn’t always touch menstrual pain.
It was designed for male physiology.

There’s a reason your iron levels plummet, your energy tanks, and your GP shrugs.
Because the data doesn’t exist — no one bothered to collect it.

There’s a reason pads “back in the day” never quite worked.
They were never tested on blood.

We were written out of the research, then blamed for not fitting the model.

So we built something different

Hey Sister! was born out of that imbalance.
Not out of frustration, but determination.
We’ve spent the last decade working with scientists, nutritionists, and women who’ve lived it, building natural relief that actually works with female biology.

We built this with women. For women. Backed by science.

And tomorrow, we’ll show you what that looks like.

Why it matters

When we ignore women’s health, we don’t just fail women, we fail society.

Because when women are well, economies grow. Families thrive. Communities strengthen.

Recent research from the University of Queensland shows menstrual pain is now a major barrier to women’s workforce participation⁷, proving the cost of inaction isn’t just physical, it’s economic.

This is not a niche market.
It’s a public health crisis.
And it’s long overdue for change.

What’s Next

Your sneak peek ends here.
Tomorrow, the full story breaks, and it might just change how we see women’s health forever.
Learn what we’ve been working on.
Follow @heysister.official for the reveal.
Or follow us on LinkedIn to stay in touch

Because this isn’t just about a product.
It’s about progress.
And finally, being heard.

FAQs

1. What makes period pain a public health issue?
Because it affects half the population, it impacts school and work attendance, mental health, and national economies. Yet research and funding remain shockingly low.

2. Why are women excluded from medical research?
Until 1993, most trials used only men due to hormonal “complexity”. As a result, women’s health data is decades behind.

3. What is FemTech?
FemTech is technology and innovation designed for women’s health, from cycle tracking to fertility, menopause, and beyond. Despite massive potential, it represents under 9% of digital health funding.

4. How can Hey Sister! help?
Hey Sister! provides science-backed, natural relief for menstrual pain, PMS, and perimenopause symptoms*, built on research designed for women’s bodies.

5. Why is investing in women’s health important?
Because the data gap affects every level of society. When women’s health is prioritised, productivity, wellbeing, and equality all rise.

Resources & References

¹ AAMC. Why We Know So Little About Women’s Health. Retrieved from: https://www.aamc.org/news/why-we-know-so-little-about-women-s-health

² SBS News. It’s 2023 and Period Products Are Only Now Being Tested With Blood. Retrieved from: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/its-2023-and-period-products-are-only-now-being-tested-with-blood/o337yk6gx

³ University of York. Diagnosis Delay in Endometriosis is Leading to Greater Suffering, Study Finds. Retrieved from: https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2024/research/diagnosis-endometriosis-delay

⁴ ORF Online. FemTech Industry: The Gendered Edge of Digital Health. Retrieved from: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/femtech-industry-the-gendered-edge-of-digital-health

⁵ Galen Growth. FemTech's Rise and Roadblocks: Digital Health Funding Growth and Gaps. Retrieved from: https://www.galengrowth.com/femtechs-rise-and-roadblocks-digital-health-funding-growth-and-gaps

⁶ ABC News. Problematic Periods Cost Australian Women $14 Billion a Year. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-20/problematic-periods-menstruation-womens-health/104825510

⁷ The University of Queensland – School of Public Health. Study Finds Menstrual Pain Another Barrier to Women's Workforce Participation. Retrieved from: https://public-health.uq.edu.au/article/2025/03/study-finds-menstrual-pain-another-barrier-entry-womens-workforce-participation