Explore our collection of free downloadable guides designed to support you—wherever you are in your journey. Whether you're navigating fertility, menopause, or loss, these resources offer gentle guidance, space to reflect, and practical tools to help you feel informed and supported.
Track Your Cycle with Ease – Tempdrop
This wearable basal body thermometer adapts to your unique cycle, giving you accurate insights with zero stress. Say goodbye to early mornings and hello to effortless tracking, whether you’re trying to conceive or simply getting to know your body better.
The femme Journal
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Show Notes: Women, Pleasure & Taboo: Redefining Intimacy Through Fertility and Menopause
Women, Pleasure & Taboo: Redefining Intimacy Through Fertility and Menopause Title: Women, Pleasure & Taboo: Redefining Intimacy Through Fertility and Menopause Host: Stef Meachin Guest: Cecilie Hjelmager, Co-Founder of Sitre Length: ~30 minutes In the first episode of Season 3, Know Your Flow returns with a bold and important conversation about intimacy, female pleasure, and wellness. Host Stef Meachin, co-founder of femme, is joined by Cecilie Hjelmager, co-founder of the Danish intimacy brand Sitre, to explore why intimacy and pleasure are still treated as taboo topics - even among women - and how this conversation is finally beginning to change. Cecilie shares how her own experiences, alongside her co-founder Julie’s, inspired the creation of Sitre - a brand redefining intimacy with products designed to support fertility, postpartum, perimenopause, and menopause, all while promoting inclusivity and education. Together, Stef and Cecilie discuss how communication, emotional connection, and self-awareness can transform how we think about sex and intimacy at every life stage. “We wouldn’t even be on this planet without intimacy, so why is it still so taboo?” Stef Meachin In This Episode, We Discuss: The story behind Sitre and its mission to make intimacy part of overall wellness Why conversations about female pleasure are still surrounded by stigma The impact of fertility journeys, hormonal changes, and menopause on intimacy How small acts of connection — from touch to setting a mood — can nurture relationships The importance of fertility-safe and body-friendly products for women’s health How Sitre is building an inclusive storytelling platform to educate and empower Why teaching intimacy as part of wellbeing (not just sex education) should start earlier Listen here “Intimacy isn’t a luxury - it’s a key part of our wellbeing.” Cecilie Hjelmager Episode Takeaways Intimacy should be seen as wellness, not shame. Open communication between partners is vital through life’s changes. Pleasure and emotional connection support mental and physical health. Safe, inclusive products can empower women through every stage of life. Sitre products containing CBD and Vitamin E, could really help those with endometriosis and adenomyosis with intimacy as it often causes muscle spasms and tension “A good orgasm can be one of the best stress relievers - yet no one teaches that.” Cecilie Hjelmager Timestamps 00:00 – Welcome to Season 3 of Know Your Flow Stef opens the new season with excitement and introduces today’s theme: intimacy — a subject many women still find difficult to talk about. 01:00 – Introducing Cecilie and Sitre Meet Cecilie Hjelmager, co-founder of the Copenhagen-based intimacy brand Sitre, redefining how we think about pleasure, wellness, and women’s health. 02:00 – The Story Behind Sitre Cecilie shares how her and her co-founder Julie’s personal experiences led to creating Sitre — a brand inspired by the need for safe, empowering products that treat intimacy as part of overall wellbeing. 04:20 – Why Is Female Pleasure Still Taboo? A powerful discussion on why women’s pleasure has been ignored for centuries, the influence of media and male-centric narratives, and why open conversations are the key to change. 07:00 – The Importance of Representation and Storytelling Cecilie explains how sharing real stories from women helps break shame and normalise female desire, pleasure, and connection. 08:50 – Intimacy During Fertility and Menopause Stef and Cecilie explore how intimacy often suffers during fertility struggles and menopause, and how communication can strengthen relationships during these vulnerable stages. 10:45 – Redefining Intimacy Beyond Sex Cecilie shares how intimacy isn’t just about penetration — it’s about connection, touch, and acts of care like massages or lighting a candle to build closeness without pressure. 13:30 – The Pressure of Performance and Communication in Relationships Stef reflects on her own experience attending an intimacy masterclass, highlighting the importance of communication, honesty, and learning to adapt with your partner. 14:30 – Fertility-Safe Lubricants & Product Safety Cecilie explains why not all lubricants are fertility-safe and how Sitre prioritises natural ingredients, pH balance, and skin health to ensure safety during fertility treatment and menopause. 17:30 – Ingredients That Support Women’s Wellness Discover how Sitre uses Vitamin E for healing and CBD for relaxation and anti-inflammatory benefits — designed to nurture the body and reduce tension. 19:20 – Education, Inclusivity & Changing the Conversation Cecilie discusses why Sitre built a storytelling platform (feelSitre.com) to share honest, diverse experiences from women of all ages and backgrounds. 22:30 – Intimacy Education and Schools Stef and Cecilie reflect on how sex education in schools focuses on biology and contraception, not pleasure or wellbeing — and why this needs to change. 24:00 – Intimacy as Wellness and Stress Relief They discuss the mental and physical benefits of pleasure — from stress relief and better sleep to improved self-connection. 25:00 – Redefining the Language of Intimacy Cecilie talks about moving away from “kinky” or “dirty” language to embrace intimacy as something mindful, soft, and emotional — not performative. 27:00 – What’s Next for Sitre Cecilie reveals what’s coming next for the brand — from new products inspired by daily wellness rituals to expanding Sitre’s storytelling and educational platform. 29:00 – Where to Find Sitre Cecilie invites listeners to connect on Instagram @feelSitre Sitre products are also available here. 30:00 – Closing Thoughts Stef wraps up with a heartfelt thank you, reflecting on the importance of open conversations about intimacy, connection, and women’s wellbeing. “It’s about redefining intimacy as connection, not performance.” Cecilie Hjelmager Episode Summary In this episode, Stef and Cecilie challenge the taboos around female pleasure and redefine intimacy as a vital part of wellness. They discuss fertility, menopause, communication in relationships, and the power of safe, inclusive products and education. It’s an honest, empowering conversation for every woman learning to connect with her body, her partner, and herself. Listen & Subscribe Listen to Know Your Flow by femme on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts — and don’t forget to subscribe to catch the next episode in Season 3.
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Baby Loss: Emotional Challenges, Grief, and Support After Miscarriage
“Grieving after baby loss or miscarriage is deeply challenging. Learn expert insights on coping with grief, supporting parents, and navigating the emotions of trying to conceive again.”
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Coffee and Hormones: Brewing a Hormone-Smart Coffee Routine
Love coffee? Let’s make it cycle-smart Love coffee but not always the jitters, sleep dips, or hot flushes that can tag along? Your caffeine sensitivity can shift across your menstrual cycle and again in perimenopause and menopause. Here’s a friendly, science-savvy guide to timing, dosing, and swapping your brew so it works with your body, not against it. This International Coffee Day, we’re sharing all our tips for enjoying your coffee while nuturing your body and hormones throughout your cycle. Key things to note… Sensitivity to caffeine can vary across your cycle. Keep coffee to the morning, after food, and avoid for up to 6–8 hours before bed. In PMS/luteal and during peri/menopause, try smaller cups, half-caff/decaf, and iced options. Track what changes for you (sleep, mood, hot flushes, anxiety, digestion). Bean Basics Caffeine can hang around for 6–8 hours; late cups can nudge anxiety and sleep issues. Try coffee 60–90 minutes after waking to avoid stacking on your natural morning cortisol spike. Eat first (protein + fibre) and drink water alongside to reduce jitters. Everyone’s sensitivity is different - and it can change across your cycle and through midlife. Brewed Awakening: Time Your Caffeine to Your Cycle Menstrual Phase (period days) Lower energy and cramps are common. Try: gentler brew, smaller cup, after a protein-rich breakfast. If cramps/IBS flare: switch to half-caff, decaf, cacao, or herbal options. Follicular Phase (energy rising) Many feel more caffeine tolerant here. Try: 1–2 small cups AM only; pair with water. If you tend to feel anxious: keep it to one. Ovulatory Phase (peak energy, sometimes “wired”) Great vibes… or buzzy. Try: one cup mid-morning, skip the second. If edgy: half-caff or matcha. Luteal/PMS (often more sensitive) Sleep and mood can dip; caffeine may amplify both. Try:half-caff/decaf, stop by early afternoon, hydrate well. Support: steady meals (protein + fibre) to keep blood sugar calm. Perimenopause & Menopause Hot flushes, fragmented sleep, and anxiety can be more caffeine-reactive. Try: iced or decaf, smaller cups, always after food, avoid late-PM. Track: notice patterns between caffeine and symptoms (more on that below). How Much Caffeine Is in My Cup? Typical ranges (brands and brews vary - use these as guides only): Espresso (1 shot / 30–40 ml): 60–75 mg Brewed coffee (240 ml): 80–100 mg Cold brew (350 ml): 150–240 mg Instant (240 ml): 60–80 mg Decaf (240 ml): 2–15 mg Black tea (240 ml): 40–60 mg Green tea (240 ml): 20–45 mg Matcha (1 tsp): 50–70 mg Cacao (1 tbsp): 10–25 mg Sleep tip: Many people sleep better when their last caffeine is 6–8 hours before bedtime (earlier for those of us who are sensitive to caffeine). Smart Swaps & Helpful Add-Ons Swaps: half-caff, decaf, matcha, cacao, chicory/dandelion “coffee.”Add-ons: cinnamon, milk/protein, ice (for hot flushes), and a water chaser. Two calmer-caffeine recipes to try: Cool Calm Latte (decaf, iced) 1 shot decaf espresso (or strong decaf coffee) Ice + milk of choice Pinch cinnamon, Drop of vanilla extract Optional: a scoop of collagen or protein if it suits you Cacao Chill (mocha-style, optional decaf) 1 tbsp cacao powder Milk of choice + ice 1 shot espresso (or decaf espresso) Whisk or shake until smooth Our simple cycle & coffee recommendations Follicular: 10:00 small latte → water → skip any coffee after 14:00. Luteal: 09:30 half-caff flat white after breakfast; herbal tea later. Peri/Meno: 11:00 iced decaf with lunch; protect sleep window. Track Your Response (Simple Check-In) Pick a week (or two) and jot a quick daily note on: Sleep: time to fall asleep, night wakings Mood/Anxiety: calm ↔ jittery Hot Flushes: frequency/intensity Digestion: comfy ↔ crampy/urgent Caffeine: what/when/how much Patterns beat guesswork. If something feels off, scale back, shift timing earlier, or try a swap. FAQs How many cups are “okay”? It depends on your sensitivity and goals. Many feel best at ≤ 1 small cup in luteal/PMS and peri/menopause. In more tolerant phases, 1–2 small AM cups can be fine. Is decaf “caffeine-free”? Not entirely - decaf still contains a small amount of caffeine (often 2–15 mg per cup). What about matcha? Matcha can feel smoother for some due to L-theanine, but it still contains caffeine (roughly 50–70 mg per teaspoon). Coffee and Hormones Round-Up So that's it, there are our tips of coffee and hormones. Coffee can absolutely be part of a hormone-friendly routine - especially when you time it, size it, and tailor it to your current phase. Start with morning-only, after food, wrap by early afternoon, and keep an eye on sleep and symptoms. Your kinder-caffeine sweet spot is personal—and worth finding.
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Natural Contraception Methods: Rethinking Our Choices on World Contraception Day
Contraception has always been about freedom, choice, and control. But as we celebrate World Contraception Day, it’s clear the conversation needs to evolve. For decades, women have shouldered the responsibility of birth control, often through hormonal methods that impact not just fertility, but mood, energy, and long-term health. Now, more women are asking: what about natural contraception methods? And why are we only just seeing alternatives for men? Let’s explore hormonal vs. natural contraception, the realities of the pill, why many are delaying or opting out of motherhood (and why that means we need a long-term solution), and what the future of contraception could look like. Hormonal Contraception: Effective but at What Cost? The most common methods of contraception in the UK remain hormonal: The Pill – taken daily, effective when used correctly, but linked to side effects including weight gain, mood swings, and reduced libido. The Coil (IUD/IUS) – highly effective, but can cause cramping, heavier or irregular bleeding, or hormonal side effects. The Implant, Patch, or Injection – convenient and long-lasting, but again, side effects vary and often include irregular cycles, acne, or hormonal imbalances. Hormonal contraception revolutionised women’s lives. But it also means taking artificial hormones for years - sometimes decades - without always being told the full story. In fact, the combined oral contraceptive pill has now been placed in the same risk category as certain cancers. Yet generations of women weren’t fully educated about those risks, leaving many to feel frustrated and misinformed. Not only that, but hormonal contraception can also have an impact on your brain and mood, here is what the science says: 1. Altered Mood, Anxiety & Depression RiskThere’s good evidence that starting or using hormonal contraceptives (especially combined pills, or ones with certain progestins) can increase the risk of mood changes, anxiety, or depressive symptoms — particularly in people already sensitive to hormonal shifts.For example, a large Danish study found users of hormonal contraception had a higher chance of depression requiring medical treatment. 2. Changed Brain Reactivity & ConnectivityNeuroimaging research shows that the pill can affect how different brain regions respond to emotional stimuli, stress, and fear: Some studies report lower amygdala reactivity to negative emotional images in pill users compared to non-users. There are also changes in connectivity across brain networks: one study tracking a single woman through her natural cycle and then on pill showed changes in ‘network modularity’ and typical connectivity patterns. 3. Stress & Inflammation Responses Hormonal contraceptive use seems to modify the stress response: both psychological (how you feel under stress) and biological (measures like inflammation markers, cortisol). Some research suggests users may have a more negative emotional response to stressors. 4. Emotion Recognition, Reward Processing & Fear ResponseOther brain functions appear to shift: How people recognise fear or negative emotions may differ. Some studies show changes in reward sensitivity (how much pleasure or motivation from positive stimuli) tied to hormonal status. Key Caveats & What Science Doesn’t (Yet) Say Effects are very individual. Some people feel fine; some feel noticeably different; others even feel positive mood changes. It depends a lot on personal hormone sensitivity, type of pill or progesterone used, prior mental health, lifestyle, etc. Many studies are short-term, have varying design quality, small sample sizes, or focus on specific formulations. That means generalising to “the pill causes X” for everyone is risky. Because hormonal contraceptives suppress natural cycles of oestradiol and progesterone, some brain functions that follow those cycles (emotion, stress response) are being flattened or altered. But how much this matters day-to-day is still under study. Natural Contraception Methods: Body Literacy and Hormone-Free For women who want to avoid synthetic hormones, natural contraception methods offer a different approach. These include: Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) – tracking basal body temperature (BBT), cervical mucus, and cycle length to predict fertile and infertile days. Cycle Tracking with Tech – devices like Tempdrop make BBT tracking easier, even with irregular cycles or disrupted sleep. Barrier Methods – condoms, diaphragms, and cervical caps, often combined with fertility awareness for extra protection. Withdrawal & Abstinence During Fertile Window – higher risk, but still part of the natural methods spectrum. ✨ While these methods require more education and consistency, they give women something hormonal methods don’t: body literacy. You learn how your body works, spot patterns, and connect symptoms with your hormonal phases. Why Some Women Are Saying “Not Now” or “Not Ever” to Children Beyond methods, there’s another shift happening: more women are choosing to delay having children, or not to have them at all. Reasons include: Cost of Living Crisis – raising children is expensive, and financial security is harder to achieve. Career & Independence – many women prioritise career growth, travel, or personal goals. Health & Environment – with rising awareness of climate change and personal wellbeing, some women are rethinking parenthood altogether. Contraception, in this context, isn’t just about preventing pregnancy - it’s about preserving choice in a world where the stakes feel higher than ever. And with this in mind, we need to find a long-term solution for women that is reliable, effective and risk-free. For us, this starts with education, we know that body literacy is risk-free in terms of the impact on our health, but if women are not education how to use natural methods effectively, it comes with human-error risks. It’s time we all got to know our body’s better. The Male Contraceptive Pill: Finally Sharing the Load? For decades, the burden of contraception has largely fallen on women. But a breakthrough could be on the horizon: the male contraceptive pill. Recent studies suggest safe, reversible hormonal pills for men may soon be available. This could rebalance responsibility and create a real cultural shift in how society views contraception. But the question remains: will men embrace it? And will women trust them to? Why Education Matters More Than Ever One of the biggest challenges is the lack of education. Too many women start the pill as teenagers without being told about alternatives, risks, or how their cycles actually work. World Contraception Day is about changing that. It’s about: Educating people on natural contraception methods alongside hormonal ones. Highlighting the risks and realities of the pill. Opening conversations about male contraception. Giving women the tools to make informed, empowered decisions. The Bottom Line Contraception is not one-size-fits-all. Hormonal methods remain effective and convenient for many, but natural contraception methods are rising in popularity for women seeking hormone-free, body-led choices. As more women delay or opt out of motherhood due to cost of living, health, or personal preference, contraception becomes less about just preventing pregnancy - and more about empowerment, education, and equality. This World Contraception Day, the real conversation is this:✨ What would contraception look like if it truly supported everyone’s health, choices, and futures?
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