Female Forward

Episode 31: Libido

Doctors are urging women not to assume a significant drop in their sex drive is simply part of getting older. Libido can be affected by hormones, menopause, pain, stress and other health issues — and in many cases, help is available. HOT1027’s Tara Penny reports…

28 Aug 7AM 2 min

Episode 30: The Power of Setting Boundaries

Mental-health professionals are urging women to become more comfortable saying what they need — and crucially, what they don't want. They say women are often conditioned to put everybody else's needs first, leaving them feeling guilty when they set boundaries or ask for help. But constantly saying “yes” can come…

27 Aug 3AM 2 min

Episode 29: Healthy Eating: What Can You Add?

Dietitians are urging women to stop thinking about healthy eating purely in terms of what they need to cut out. They say years of restrictive diets and conflicting advice online have left many women confused — and even frightened of perfectly nutritious foods. HOT1027's Tara Penny reports…

27 Aug 12AM 2 min

Episode 28: The warning signs of a stroke

Women are being urged to learn the warning signs of a stroke — and to take their own risk more seriously. The Heart and Stroke Foundation says a woman's lifetime risk of stroke is one in four... And pregnancy, pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure can all influence that risk. But…

26 Aug 3AM 2 min

Episode 27: "The Screening Checklist"

Doctors are urging women not to wait until they feel sick before having basic health checks. High blood pressure, cholesterol problems, diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers can all develop with few — or no — obvious symptoms. But specialists say there's also no single screening checklist that suits every woman…

26 Aug 12AM 2 min

Episode 26: The Thyroid

Women experiencing weight gain, changes to their periods or other symptoms in their 40s are being warned not to automatically assume they're going through perimenopause. Gynaecologists say thyroid problems can produce a remarkably similar picture — and may be overlooked when symptoms are simply blamed on changing female hormones. HOT1027’s…

25 Aug 4AM 2 min

Episode 25: The slippery slope of self-medication & burnout

A Johannesburg psychiatrist is warning that burnout among women doesn't always look like someone falling apart. Women can still be working, raising families and keeping everything running while becoming anxious, exhausted and increasingly reliant on alcohol or medication to switch off. HOT1027’s Tara Penny has more …

25 Aug 2AM 2 min

Episode 24: Do you have dense breasts?

Women are being urged to find out whether they have dense breast tissue — because it can both increase their risk of breast cancer and make tumours harder to detect. And doctors say there's no way to tell simply by looking at your breasts or examining them yourself. HOT1027's Tara…

24 Aug 4AM 2 min

Episode 23: "The Sleep Divorce"

Sleeping in separate bedrooms doesn't necessarily mean that your relationship is in trouble. A Johannesburg sleep specialist says more couples are finding they simply don't sleep well together — because of snoring, insomnia or completely different body clocks. But she warns a so-called “sleep divorce” shouldn't become a way of…

24 Aug 1AM 2 min

Episode 22: "We need to build and protect muscle"

Women are being urged to pay less attention to the number on the bathroom scale — and more attention to the muscle they're carrying. Health experts say maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important as women get older... not only for strength, but for metabolism, mobility and our ability to remain independent…

21 Aug 4AM 2 min

Episode 21: Insulin Resistance & Diabetes

Doctors say diabetes doesn't suddenly appear overnight. They're warning women that the disease is often preceded by years of silent changes in the body— changes that many mistake for simply getting older or gaining weight. HOT1027's Tara Penny takes a look…

21 Aug 3AM 2 min

Episode 20: "A generation of women was deprived of HRT"

Doctors say outdated fears around hormone replacement therapy are still influencing how women approach menopause... more than two decades later. A major study in the early 2000s triggered widespread concern about H.R.T and breast cancer. But specialists say our understanding of both menopause and hormone therapy has changed significantly since…

20 Aug 4AM 2 min

Episode 19: "I loved my baby... I just didn't like being a Mommy"

A Johannesburg psychiatrist is urging new mothers and their families to learn the warning signs of postnatal depression — after revealing she failed to recognise the condition in herself. As part of our focus on health this Women's month, we're also looking into the emotional upheaval that comes with having…

20 Aug 2AM 2 min

Episode 18: The HPV vaccine

Doctors are urging South African parents not to pass-up one of the most powerful weapons we have against cervical cancer. The H.P.V vaccine can protect children against high-risk strains of the virus that's responsible for most cervical cancers. And specialists say vaccination — combined with screening later in life —…

19 Aug 5AM 2 min

Episode 17: "Perimenopause starts a decade before menopause"

Doctors are warning women in their late 30s and early 40s not to automatically dismiss sudden anxiety, poor sleep, brain-fog or changes in their periods as stress. Perimenopause can begin years before a woman's final period — and the first symptoms may have nothing to do with the hot flushes…

19 Aug 2AM 2 min

Episode 16: "The baby won't just slot into your life"

A Johannesburg midwife is warning that too many women are prepared for childbirth — but far less prepared for what happens after they bring their baby home. From sleepless nights and breastfeeding challenges to dramatic hormonal changes and the risk of postnatal depression. She says new mothers need knowledge, realistic…

18 Aug 6AM 2 min

Episode 15: Healthy Ageing

Doctors are urging women to start thinking about healthy ageing long before they consider themselves old. They say the foundations for heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and physical decline can be laid decades before symptoms appear. But importantly — many of those risks can also be changed. HOT1027's Tara Penny reports…

18 Aug 2AM 2 min

Episode 14: Women are not getting enough sleep

Women are being urged to stop treating sleep as a luxury. A leading Johannesburg sleep specialist says many women are sacrificing hours of sleep every night to juggle work, children and household responsibilities - without realising the damage it's doing to their health. HOT1027's Tara Penny reports…

17 Aug 4AM 1 min

Episode 13: "Dodgy weight-loss products are flooding the market"

Doctors are warning women not to gamble with their health by buying weight-loss injections from unlicensed suppliers. While medicines like Ozempic and Mounjaro can be life-changing for the right patients - under the right supervision - a growing black market in counterfeit products is putting lives at risk right here…

14 Aug 3AM 2 min

Episode 12: "Sunscreen is non-negotiable"

A Johannesburg dermatologist is urging women to pay closer attention to new or changing marks on their skin. As we put women's health under the microscope this month, experts are warning South Africa's high UV exposure and outdoor lifestyle make skin cancer an important health risk — yet many people…

13 Aug 4AM 2 min