Nau mai, haere mai,

The Menstrual Health Research Network aims to improve the mental, physical, and spiritual hauora of wāhine, menstruators and communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the Pacific by promoting and facilitating high-quality research related to the menstrual cycle that is interdisciplinary, collaborative, and encompasses multiple knowledges. 

Learn more about us.

Stay up to date with network activties.

Get in contact.

Network Spotlight

Congratulations to Ania Wright! Ania recently handed in her Masters titled:

Effects of Female Ageing on Oocytes

Supervisors: Dr Michael Pankhurst and Dr Karen Reader
Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, University of Otago

Ania’s Masters explored how maternal age affects reproductive success mediated through errors in oocyte development. Aging is associated with increased levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and decreased oocyte quality. The similarities between superovulated and aged oocytes were investigated using fluorescent dyes. The binding of ‘TMRM’ and ‘MG’ to oocyte mitochondria was used to assess diminished mitochondrial activity. Contrary to expectations, oocytes from aged mice showed higher mitochondrial activity than those from young mice. This suggests that elevated FSH affects mitochondrial activity differently in aged oocytes, reflecting possible compensatory mechanisms for cellular damage.

Anna Friedlander has recently published a new paper titled ‘‘I’m just sort of hoping that nothing like that would happen here’: menstrual tracking apps, data and risk in Aotearoa New Zealand’. This is a paper that is continuing to build upon a body of literature on the users experience and perception of risk when using Menstrual Tracking Apps. IF you are interested in this work also see the teams publication from last year ‘Bloating, Heavy Legs, and Fatigue: Sport, Menstrual Tracking Apps and More-Than-Hormonal Bodies’.

Friedlander, A., Schmidt, J. M., Greenhalgh, C., & Thorpe, H. (2025). ‘I’m just sort of hoping that nothing like that would happen here’: menstrual tracking apps, data and risk in Aotearoa New Zealand. Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/1177083X.2025.2508258

Friedlander, A., Thorpe, H., Nelson, M., & Gibbons, A. (2024). Bloating, Heavy Legs, and Fatigue: Sport, Menstrual Tracking Apps and More-Than-Hormonal Bodies. Qualitative Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004241301035