International Women’s Day: Celebrating women in our ecosystem with decipHER Women
At Rotterdam Square, we are proud to celebrate International Women’s Day. It is a moment to honour the achievements of women while recognising the ongoing work needed to advance equity in health, innovation, and leadership. Women’s health remains a vital frontier, and innovation in this space has the power to transform lives. As an all-women team, this mission resonates deeply with us.
Recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with Amy FitzPatrick, MSc, from decipHER women, whose groundbreaking work is advancing understanding of hormone-driven conditions affecting women across all life stages.
DecipHER Women was founded on the recognition that hormones are master regulators of the nervous and immune systems and therefore exert profound control over mental health and immune health. Because most drugs that modulate the hormonal system are generic, expensive research into their deep influence on health has been limited. This has produced decades of sub-optimal care for hormone-driven conditions affecting women across life stages, from PMS and PMDD to peripartum (pregnancy) depression, perimenopause, and autoimmune disease.
We began with pregnancy, one of the most powerful hormonal transitions in human biology. Our first mission is to elucidate the underlying biology of pregnancy depression through a predictive diagnostic tool that identifies risk before symptoms emerge. By making this biology measurable, we aim to move maternal mental health from stigma and uncertainty into the domain of objective medicine and provide women with a clearer, earlier care pathway.
We are deeply grateful to be building this work within the Dutch women’s health innovation ecosystem. The support of FemTech NL, Rotterdam Square, and the many female innovators, researchers, and healthcare providers advancing this field has been exceptional. We are especially thankful to Carmen van Vilsteren and Eline van Beest for recognizing this unmet need and placing early belief in our solution.International Women’s Day reminds us that progress in women’s health arises from communities like this working together to address long-standing gaps in research, care, and understanding.
We are proud to see innovators like decipHER women shaping the future of women’s health. Their dedication reminds why International Women’s Day is still so important to celebrate progress, acknowledge challenges, and amplify voices that drive change.
At Rotterdam Square, we remain committed to fostering connections, sharing insights, and supporting innovation that advances women’s health and empowers the next generation of innovators.
Date: March 8, 2026
