In today’s fast-paced world, health tech isn’t just about having gadgets; it’s about creating tools that seamlessly fit into our lives to make us healthier, stronger, and more connected to our bodies. This tech wave is opening doors we never had access to for women’s health. From wearables that monitor our heart rates to apps that track our sleep patterns, these advancements bring health insights directly to our wrists and phones—empowering us in deeply personal, practical, and exciting ways.
This revolution in health technology means that wellness isn’t just something we think about at the doctor’s office anymore. Instead, with the right tools, we can understand our bodies better daily, make adjustments that benefit us immediately, and take charge of our wellness journey in ways that suit our unique lives. This shift is especially impactful for women, providing real-time data and personalized feedback on areas that matter most, from hormonal to heart health.
So, who are the key players in this new age of women’s wellness? Let’s explore the powerful tech tools transforming how we care for our bodies, minds, and overall health.
Wearable Trackers: Small Tools, Big Insights
We’re all familiar with fitness trackers—those trusty gadgets on our wrists that count steps, track calories burned, and monitor our sleep. But wearable technology has evolved far beyond step counters, offering a wealth of insights to help us connect with our bodies on a deeper level. Today’s wearables can track heart rate variability (HRV), stress levels, and even sleep quality, helping us better understand our health in real time and make adjustments that support our long-term well-being.
Personally, I use a smartwatch from Spade & Co. It’s affordable, comfortable, and has become one of my most reliable health companions. One of my favorite features is its HRV tracking, which tells me how well I manage stress and balance recovery. HRV measures the tiny changes between heartbeats, and tracking these fluctuations over time provides a powerful glimpse into how resilient our bodies are to daily stressors. For example, if my HRV is lower than usual, it’s usually my body’s way of saying, “Take it easy!” On days when my HRV is higher, I feel more ready to tackle a busy schedule or a longer daily walk.
Wearable rings, like the Oura Ring, are another option for those who prefer a subtler, more low-profile device. I like my smartwatch because I don’t like wearing rings. Still, I know people who love the ease and simplicity of these rings, which offer similar data on HRV, sleep stages, and daily activity without taking up much space on the wrist or drawing much attention.
These devices’ real power lies in allowing us to take control of our wellness. HRV, for example, is like a daily check-in on our stress and recovery levels. When HRV drops consistently, it can signal that our bodies are stressed or fatigued, nudging us to rest, hydrate, or adjust our routines before burnout hits. Alternatively, a consistently high HRV means we’re balancing stress well, a confidence boost that can encourage us to maintain our current habits.
Another key feature I appreciate in wearables is sleep tracking. Quality sleep is foundational to health, but it’s often overlooked or sacrificed in our busy lives. Wearables track the number of hours we sleep and the quality, including time spent in light, deep, and REM sleep. These insights help us see patterns—if, for instance, we’re regularly falling short of deep sleep, we might make adjustments like creating a relaxing bedtime routine or reducing screen time in the evening.
Finally, stress monitoring is another game-changer in wearables, particularly for women balancing numerous roles. By tracking stress levels throughout the day, wearable devices encourage us to build moments of relaxation into our routine, whether through deep breathing, taking a quick walk, or just pausing for a few minutes to regroup. This real-time feedback allows us to address stress as it arises rather than letting it accumulate.
These small, daily check-ins provide a better sense of how our bodies react to routines, diet, exercise, and life’s many curveballs. By making data-driven adjustments, we can optimize our energy, maintain balance, and ultimately live harmoniously with our needs. These wearable devices are so much more than gadgets—they’re tools for self-awareness, self-care, and empowerment.
Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs): Knowing What Fuels You
One of the most exciting advancements in women’s health tech today? Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). These small, wearable devices attach to the arm and give us real-time feedback on our blood sugar levels, providing a steady stream of data beyond a snapshot of glucose levels after meals. CGMs are game-changers because they show us how every aspect of daily life—from our foods to our stress levels, workouts, and even sleep—affects our blood sugar in real time. It’s an eye-opener for understanding how each factor impacts energy, mood, and long-term health.
Dr. Casey Means, in her book Good Energy: The Surprising Connection between Metabolism and Limitless Health, explains how CGMs provide invaluable “biofeedback” that helps people see, understand, and feel their metabolic health in action. By monitoring glucose, women can gain insights into which foods work best for their bodies and how their energy levels and mental clarity relate to blood sugar stability. This data can also show how seemingly unrelated factors like sleep quality or a stressful meeting affect glucose levels. With this kind of feedback, CGMs empower us to build a lifestyle that supports balanced energy, better hormonal health, and optimal well-being.
One of the most significant benefits of CGMs is their ability to help stabilize blood sugar, which has a ripple effect on nearly every part of women’s health. For instance, keeping blood sugar steady throughout the day improves energy levels and supports hormonal balance and mood stability. Many women experience mid-morning or afternoon energy crashes, often leading to quick cravings for sugary snacks or caffeine. With CGMs, it’s easy to see how certain foods or habits contribute to these crashes, giving us the data needed to create sustainable, energy-boosting habits.
Imagine eating a donut and watching your blood sugar spike and then crash shortly after—it’s not about guilt but about understanding the impact. In contrast, eating balanced proteins, healthy fats, and fiber might produce a steady rise in blood sugar, keeping energy levels consistent and avoiding that dreaded crash and seeing this feedback in real-time shifts our mindset from restrictive dieting to informed eating, where each meal is an opportunity to feel good.
CGMs are also valuable tools for understanding the effects of stress. During stressful moments, our body releases cortisol, which can lead to a temporary spike in blood glucose. With a CGM, you can see this response happening, underscoring the importance of stress management techniques, like deep breathing or a quick walk. Over time, these small adjustments can help keep blood sugar steady, promoting metabolic health and resilience to life’s daily stressors.
Sleep quality, too, significantly impacts blood sugar levels. Poor sleep can lead to increased insulin resistance, meaning the body has to work harder to regulate blood glucose. Using a CGM, women can see the effects of sleep patterns on glucose levels the next day and how improved sleep can lead to more stable blood sugar control. This data reinforces the importance of quality rest, helping us prioritize sleep for overall health.
CGMs provide critical insights into how blood sugar stability impacts hormone health for women. For instance, blood sugar fluctuations can exacerbate hormonal imbalances, especially during menstrual cycles, perimenopause, or menopause. By understanding these patterns through CGM data, women can adjust their diets, incorporate healthy fats and proteins, and practice stress reduction techniques that can improve hormonal balance. With each insight, women become better equipped to create a nourishing and sustainable lifestyle.
Continuous glucose monitoring takes the mystery out of metabolism. By putting real-time information at our fingertips, CGMs empower us to make choices that support our well-being. Instead of guessing what fuels us best, CGMs provide data-driven insights, helping women design meals, activities, and self-care practices that make us feel best.
FemTech Innovations: Made for Us, Finally
FemTech—technology created specifically for women’s health—is growing faster than ever, and it’s about time! This field is transforming everything from reproductive health and fertility to menopause support, meeting women where traditional healthcare has often fallen short. FemTech isn’t just about creating more products; it’s about making technology that genuinely understands our unique needs, offers tailored support, and fits seamlessly into our lives. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the standout tools in this space:
- Fertility and Cycle Tracking For women tracking their cycles, trying to conceive, or seeking natural birth control methods, wearable devices and apps like Natural Cycles are changing the game. Natural Cycles, for instance, provides a hormone-free way to monitor fertility by tracking basal body temperature and other indicators like cervical mucus. This data helps women identify ovulation patterns, giving them greater control over family planning and creating a natural alternative to hormone-based methods.
Other FemTech companies like Ava offer wearable devices that track multiple physiological indicators, including resting heart rate, temperature, and breathing, to provide insights into the best times for conception. These tools bring a whole new level of understanding to fertility, allowing women to make informed decisions with confidence. Beyond family planning, cycle tracking apps also empower women to predict and manage symptoms associated with PMS or specific phases of their cycle, transforming what was once a mysterious process into a manageable and personalized experience.
- Menopause Support Tools Menopause is a phase of life that often comes with its own set of uncomfortable symptoms, from hot flashes to night sweats and sleep disturbances. Unfortunately, these symptoms have historically been under-discussed and under-treated. Enter FemTech solutions like Embr Wave, a wearable device designed to regulate body temperature with the push of a button. This tool can help alleviate hot flashes by providing demanding cooling or warming sensations, making everyday life more manageable.
Beyond physical comfort, apps like Caria tackle the emotional and informational gaps accompanying menopause. Caria provides personalized guidance on managing symptoms, tracking hormone levels, and even offering community support, helping women navigate menopause with information and confidence. These tools break down barriers in women’s health, ensuring that menopause support is more accessible, personalized, and relevant.
- Pelvic Floor Health Apps and Devices Pelvic floor health is foundational to many aspects of women’s well-being, from childbirth recovery to sexual health and incontinence prevention. Tools like the Elvie Trainer offer a high-tech solution for pelvic floor strengthening by pairing an app with a small, discreet device that guides users through Kegel exercises. The device provides real-time feedback, helping women monitor and improve their strength, leading to better core stability, bladder control, and enhanced sexual health.
For women post-childbirth or in later stages of life, these kinds of tools can be a lifeline. With guidance from apps and user-friendly devices, women can take control of their pelvic health in a way that’s accessible and engaging.
- Mental Health and Wellness Apps Mental health is a critical component of overall wellness, and FemTech is bringing a new wave of tools tailored to women’s specific needs. Apps like Hers provide mental health support through therapy, counseling, and medication management. By offering online consultations and direct access to healthcare professionals, these apps make mental health care more accessible for busy women who might otherwise struggle to find time for traditional therapy.
Some apps focus on the connection between hormonal health and mental wellness. Hormone University, for instance, provides resources and tracking tools that help women understand how hormonal fluctuations impact their mood, energy levels, and mental health. With these insights, women can proactively manage mental wellness through diet, lifestyle, and supplements.
- General Health and Wellness Tracking FemTech also includes all-in-one health apps, like Clue and Flo, which offer comprehensive tracking for everything from menstrual cycles to mood and symptom monitoring. These platforms are designed to help women understand the broader picture of their health. They allow users to log symptoms, track patterns, and predict PMS, ovulation, and fertility windows. These apps also provide educational content, helping women learn more about hormonal health, reproductive wellness, and general self-care practices.
What’s so powerful about these tools is that they help women track health data and learn how to interpret it. They offer personalized insights that adapt to each user’s unique patterns and symptoms, making it easier to spot early warning signs and take proactive steps toward better health.
Bringing It All Together: FemTech’s Transformative Role
FemTech is more than just a trend—it’s a response to the long-standing gaps in women’s healthcare. Whether in your reproductive years, navigating menopause, or anything in between, these tools offer solutions that support, educate, and empower. For the first time, technology speaks to our unique health journeys, equipping us with insights and tools to take control of our wellness on our terms. FemTech is here to stay, offering us powerful resources to make informed, personalized health decisions at every stage of life.
Heart Health and Mental Wellness: Why These Matter Now More Than Ever
Heart health affects all of us, but it carries unique challenges and risks for women. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death among women globally, and risk factors often differ for women compared to men. Chronic stress, which is a significant contributor to heart disease, disproportionately impacts women, especially with the increasing demands of balancing work, family, and personal responsibilities. The good news? Today’s technology offers tools that make heart health and mental wellness more accessible and actionable.
As I stated above, one of the standout features in wearable health tech is heart rate variability (HRV) tracking. HRV measures the subtle variations between heartbeats, which can provide valuable insights into how well the body handles stress. A higher HRV is generally a sign of good heart health and resilience to stress, while a lower HRV may indicate a need for rest or relaxation. Tracking HRV over time helps women recognize patterns in their stress responses, empowering them to prioritize relaxation, recovery, and heart health. With gentle nudges to pause, breathe, or take breaks, wearable devices offer proactive tools to manage stress before it leads to more serious health issues.
In tandem with wearables, mental wellness apps like Calm, Headspace, and even newer platforms focused on women’s health offer accessible ways to reduce stress and promote relaxation. These apps provide guided meditation, breathing exercises, and mindfulness practices that help lower cortisol levels—the stress hormone that can strain the heart when elevated over long periods. By establishing a daily practice with these tools, women can create a sense of calm and stability, which translates into improved heart health and emotional resilience.
Managing stress doesn’t just support heart health; it’s essential for overall well-being. Chronic stress has been shown to disrupt hormonal balance, increase anxiety, and contribute to conditions like hypertension. Tools that address mental and physical wellness create a holistic approach to health, giving women a toolkit for surviving and thriving. For example, combining wearables with apps that monitor stress levels can offer early warnings of potential burnout, allowing for timely intervention. A consistent mindfulness practice, supported by mental wellness apps, can improve resilience, enhance emotional balance, and even support sleep quality, all of which contribute to better heart health.
The Mind-Heart Connection
Research increasingly highlights the mind-heart connection, showing how our emotional health directly impacts heart health. When we experience stress or anxiety, our sympathetic nervous system (responsible for “fight or flight” responses) kicks in, raising heart rate and blood pressure. Over time, this can increase the risk of heart disease. Technology that helps us manage mental health plays a crucial role in breaking this cycle, allowing us to lower blood pressure, reduce resting heart rate, and promote cardiovascular health.
For women, these tools offer a chance to reconnect with their bodies, understand their stress triggers, and make health-focused adjustments. Whether it’s taking a few minutes to practice deep breathing or monitoring HRV throughout the day, these small, mindful practices have a cumulative positive impact on mental wellness and heart health. By integrating heart health and mental wellness technology, women can take control of their well-being with small, daily practices that protect their health for the long term.
Making Tech Work for You: Practical Ways to Get Started
Adopting new technology can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to dive in all at once. Start simple—if you’re new to wearables, track your steps or sleep quality for a few weeks to see patterns in your routine. Then, as you get comfortable, you can add more features like heart rate variability or daily reminders for mindfulness.
If you’re considering a CGM, many now offer short-term options that let you try out the device without a long-term commitment. This approach lets you test how tech fits into your life so you can get to know your body in an empowering and actionable way.
Taking Charge of Our Health: The Bigger Picture
The beauty of today’s health technology is that it puts control back in our hands. With wearables, CGMs, and FemTech products, we can understand our bodies on a new level. It’s a way of saying, “I’m in charge of my wellness,” and having the tools to back it up.
Whether you’re looking to improve stress management, balance your hormones, or simply get to know your body better, there’s tech that fits your needs and lifestyle. These tools make wellness a part of our day-to-day lives, not just something we think about at the doctor’s office. They empower us to make informed choices that ultimately make us healthier, stronger, and more connected to our bodies.
So, here’s to the future of women’s health—one where we have the power, the information, and the support to make choices that work for us. With these tools in our hands, we can approach health not as a destination but as a journey we’re excited to be on.
— Stay Strong, Jaelin —
Additional Reading
Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health – Dr. Casey Means
The Future of Women’s Health: How Technology is Driving Innovations in Healthcare – femtech.health
Digital tools can help improve women’s health and promote gender equality – WHO
Note: Full disclosure: I earn a small (very small) commission on any links in the article that take you to Amazon.
About the Author:
Jaelin Stickels, CNM, WHNP, is a deeply passionate and highly skilled Certified Nurse Midwife, Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, and the owner of Holistic Heritage Homebirth in Houston, Texas. With over a decade of experience, Jaelin has had the privilege of helping several hundred women welcome their babies into the world. In addition to her advanced practice licensure training, she has additional advanced training in twin and breech births, making her one of only a few with these skills in her area. Jaelin approaches every birth with expertise, compassion, and a deep respect for the birthing process. Jaelin is finishing her doctorate and looking forward to being Dr. Jaelin in early 2025.
Jaelin’s journey into midwifery began with a profound love for supporting women through the incredible experience of pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. Since 2010, she has been dedicated to walking alongside families during these transformative moments, offering guidance, support, and care tailored to each individual’s unique needs. She is a big believer in informed consent and ensures clients are given the best evidence-based information to make the best decisions for themselves and their families.
Married to her high school sweetheart Ted (aka Chef Ted) since 1984, Jaelin is the proud mother of three grown children and the delighted grandmother of one amazing granddaughter. When she’s not assisting in births, Jaelin finds joy in going to the movies with her husband, quilting, and cherishing time with her family. Known by the other midwives in her practice (Holistic Heritage Homebirth) affectionately as the “Birth Hog,” she brings an unmatched dedication and enthusiasm to her work—no one loves birth quite like she does.
Find out more about Jaelin’s Homebirth Practice (Holistic Heritage Homebirth) in Houston, TX