femalegp

18/05/2026

We are making a change.
We are making a difference.
For too long wāhine have been dismissed, when they spoke people may have listened but wāhine were not heard.

And now, following 100s of years of suppression there is confusion about when is going on in our body, our tinana, and with our minds.

Our mahi, my passion focuses on the connections between mental and hormone health. Through medications I have seen the power of hormones- for body, mind, whenua, whānau and the wairua.

I don’t have all the answers, I’m not promising to have all the answers. But I will do what I can, with amazing wāhine around me to ensure everyone can have access to the best knowledge for them.

You have to feel safe to learn. And that is what the Mana Wahine Day was about.

I was there to listen, and to offer advice. And I am so pleased to say that over 50 wāhine learnt about vaginal estrogens and how it’s now just about s*x, or just prescription. Vaginal Estrogens decrease urinary tract infections by 50%. But for some people the applicator, or asking for a prescription when they are (or aren’t) s*xually active is just too much.

So we need to break these barriers too. And we are starting..

Together xx

🩷 Rose Gold Trust 🩷 Meno Moves 🩷 @ Mana Wahine Hauora

15/05/2026

A Mother’s Day present is about making memories in our whānau. 5 years ago, Annabelle said to James “a family photo for Mother’s Day”. (Annabelle and James HATE photos.. so it meant a lot) And so 5 years later, it was another ‘surprise’ Sunday afternoon. Feeling loved 🥰

I love it when families include their dogs in their session. They’re such a big part of everyday life, and honestly, they bring so much personality too 🐶

www.karynworthington.co.nz

15/05/2026

For a long time, women’s symptoms were split into separate boxes: psychiatry, gynecology, pain, bladder, gut, sleep, migraines, anxiety…

But hormones don’t work in one body system.

As a GP, I now regularly find myself discussing hormone effects with psychiatrists, breast surgeons, pain specialists, pelvic health clinicians, and physicians.. because hormones influence the brain, immune system, blood vessels, metabolism, connective tissue, and more.

Sometimes nobody connected the dots because everyone was looking at a different piece of the puzzle.

Women have often recognised these patterns long before medicine had language for them. Now we need to integrate these dots into routine healthcare

10/05/2026

Always inspiring, motivating and validating having a catch up with a like minded soul.

08/05/2026

What happens when you invite wāhine to gather at the whare to kōrero about ikura (periods), perimenopause, menopause, and our bladders?
You get a room full of wāhine.. from rangatahi to kaumātua.

You realise you’re not alone. You make friends. You learn.
You know you are seen, heard, and validated.
There is hope- but more than that, there is action.

And you know this is not the end. You all know it can’t be. Wāhine plan, and demand.
A monthly hui.
Stronger voices.
And a shared commitment to keep spreading the word.

And how did it start? Through trust and connection. A few wāhine, with different backgrounds, strengths, experience, and hopes. But an unequivocal, universal fact is that they know they will bring about that change. Together.

The power of connection, and intuition

08/05/2026

What happens when you invite wāhine to gather at the whare to kōrero about ikura (periods), perimenopause, menopause, and our bladders?
You get a room full of wāhine.. from rangatahi to kaumātua.
You realise you’re not alone. You make friends. You learn. �You know you are seen, heard, and validated.
There is hope- but more than that, there is action.

And you know this is not the end. You all know it can’t be. Wāhine plan, and demand.�A monthly hui.�Stronger voices.�And a shared commitment to keep spreading the word.

And how did it start? Through trust and connection. A few wāhine, with different backgrounds, strengths, experience, and hopes. But an unequivocal, universal fact is that they know they will bring about that change. Together.

The power of connection, and intuition

01/05/2026

Some dreams may be coming true today!!! I’ve been invited to share my mahi with local wāhine and their whānau .. about the whole hormonal hīkoi. To be able to listen to challenges, share my knowledge in a safe space. And today isn’t just about the kōrero on the… this is the start. The wāhine coming, I’ve been told are about making a difference. They also believe, so I’ve been told, that we need to enable everyone to see hauora through a hormonal lens. Let’s change the world. Thanks Te Matau-a-Māui, and Waiohiki for this honour. Next step… even bigger 🦶🏻

25/04/2026

It’s been a slower, more intentional start to 2026 than I expected. But it’s starting to gain a force that I never expected.

After a year ( or 3) of feeling a bit uprooted, I’ve realised how important it is to stay small for a moment… to consolidate, to grow roots again, to get steady.

At the same time, my thinking is expanding.

I’m starting to look more closely at the bigger picture, how systems, policy, and conversations shape what we see every day in clinic. Because I need to know this.

However I keep coming back to the same question:
what actually creates change in women’s health?

Right now, it feels like education.
Better conversations.
Earlier understanding.
More shared knowledge.

It seems obvious to me. Really obvious. But, resistance has thus far been a plenty. Am I ‘just really naive’. I don’t know... But I know that I need to ask. To gather more evidence.

But I’m also still learning. Still listening. Still figuring it out.

So this year feels like a mix of both:
🌱 staying grounded
🌿 and slowly growing outward

I’m excited… and curious to see where it leads.

If you have thoughts.. I’d genuinely love to hear them.
I’m tempted to post.. Discuss: education in womens health...
Kōrero welcome 🤍

18/04/2026

“I’m just not feeling like myself.”

As a GP, this used to be one of those statements that made my heart sink a little, because in a 15-minute consult, it can feel overwhelming. Vague. Hard to pin down. Easy to worry you won’t do it justice.

But I’ve come to realise something important.

That discomfort?
That sense of not knowing where to start?
That’s my signal.. not the patient’s problem.

Because for the person sitting in front of me, this is not vague at all.
They are struggling.

And actually.. this phrase is incredibly meaningful.

Coslov et al. (2024) explored this exact experience in perimenopause, and “not feeling like myself” was a common and consistent way women described what they were going through.

And once you see it - you can’t unsee it.

This is what I see in clinic every week:
* Women who feel different in their bodies.
* Different in their mood, their thinking, their tolerance.
* A quiet sense that something has shifted.

So if you’re a patient, or someone who cycles through hormones.. pause and consider:
👉 Could this be perimenopause?

And if you’re a clinician:
Don’t brush past it. Lean into it.

Ask:
👉 “What do you mean by not feeling like yourself?”
👉 “When did that start?”
👉 “What feels different-emotionally, physically, cognitively?”

And if you’re still not sure where to go next.. use your usual frameworks.
Your surgical sieve. Your differentials.

But don’t forget to include:
👉 Could this be hormonal?
👉 Could this be perimenopause?

Because often.. it is.
And when we recognise it early, we can actually do something about it.

💬 Tag a friend who could do with this..
whether they’ve said it, you’ve said it to them, or you simply want to support them to feel like themselves again.

🎁 I’ll be giving away 4 courses (for you + a friend) on Tuesday evening.

For more on what hormones are doing and how appropriate hormone support can improve wellbeing:
www.femalegp.co.nz

Courses in bio

16/04/2026

Iron deficiency has become a bit of a pet project of mine.

So many women I see in perimenopause have had years of heavy periods..

Perimenopause care isn’t just about MHT.
It’s about looking at the whole picture.

Menstrual flow → chronic blood loss → iron deficiency (± anaemia)

And that can look like:
🔎Fatigue
🔎Brain fog
🔎Low mood
🔎Reduced resilience

From a clinical perspective, this matters.

Chronic heavy menstrual bleeding can lead to:

😥Iron deficiency even with a “normal” Hb
😥Compounding physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms

So management isn’t just hormonal.

It includes:

🩷Asking about menstrual flow (not just cycle length)
🩵Checking iron studies (not just haemoglobin)
💜Treating both the cause (hormonal patterns) and the consequence (iron depletion)

Perimenopause isn’t just a hormonal state..
it’s cumulative physiology.

Sometimes what we’re seeing isn’t “just menopause”…
it’s the downstream effect of years of blood loss.