Why WHO Magazine Featuring The Khush Place Matters for PCOS Awareness

When WHO Magazine reached out to feature The Khush Place, my first thought wasn't about the exposure. It was: finally, mainstream media is talking about PCOS.

One in ten Australian women live with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. That's over a million women. Yet most people couldn't tell you what PCOS actually is, what it does to your body, or how it can completely derail your life. This feature represents something much bigger than one business getting press. It represents a conversation that's been whispered in doctor's offices, cried about in bathrooms, and suffered through in silence for far too long—finally making it into the mainstream.

The Invisible Crisis: When Your Body Becomes a Battle You Can't Win

I was 28 when I came off the Mirena IUD, ready to start trying for a family. I'd been on hormonal birth control since my early twenties, so I knew my body needed time to recover and establish a natural cycle. What I didn't know was that I was about to enter three years of medical gaslighting, dismissal, and devastation that would change my life forever.

No period came. Months turned into a year. My weight yo-yoed despite doing everything "right." I researched obsessively—insulin resistance, PCOS, hormonal imbalances. I had a family history. The signs were there. But doctor after doctor told me I was fine. That I should feel lucky I didn't have periods. One laughed when I asked to test my progesterone levels. Another told me to lose weight because my BMI said I was overweight—I was 68kg at 165cm tall—and suggested I suppress my calories further.

I saw multiple doctors. Endless appointments. Countless blood tests that showed "nothing wrong." I was told I had to try naturally for 12 months before I could even be referred to a fertility specialist. The system made me wait while my mental health crumbled and my hope died.

I was 31 when I finally got my diagnosis. Three years of asking the same questions. Three years of being dismissed. Three years of feeling absolutely crazy.

When my IVF doctor looked at my blood results in our very first appointment and said, "So you have insulin-resistant PCOS," I felt two things simultaneously: fury and validation. Fury that I had been right all along. Fury that years of asking, demanding, and advocating for my own body had fallen on deaf ears. And validation—God, the validation—that I wasn't imagining it. I wasn't being difficult or anxious or overdramatic. There was something wrong, and I had known it in my bones the entire time.

But here's the part nobody talks about: I don't have the "typical" PCOS presentation. No excessive hair growth. No sky-high testosterone. Just irregular cycles, weight struggles, and internal chaos my body was screaming about that nobody could see. And because I didn't fit the textbook picture, I wasn't taken seriously.

"I was told to feel lucky I didn't have periods. I was laughed at when I asked to test my progesterone. I was 31 when I was finally diagnosed—three years after I started asking for help."

The Symptoms We Don't Talk About

When people hear "PCOS," they think: irregular periods, acne, excess hair. These are real, visible symptoms that affect many women. But the symptoms that truly devastate lives are the ones nobody mentions:

Depression and anxiety. The kind that lands you in hospital. The kind that makes you wonder if you'll survive another day. The kind that doctors never connect to your hormones.

Fertility complications. Not just "it might take longer to conceive." I mean the soul-crushing, marriage-ending, identity-shattering realisation that the future you'd imagined—the one where you become a mother—might not exist. I lost two embryos through IVF. The anxiety during that process nearly killed me. After losing my second embryo transfer, I couldn't do another round. The life I had worked for my entire life was over. I mourned the death of "mummy Heidi" that day. And then I mourned my marriage when IVF failure led to divorce.

I lost two babies, my motherhood, and my marriage to PCOS.

Metabolic chaos. The toxic relationship with food, the weight that won't shift no matter what you do, the insulin resistance that makes your body fight against you every single day.

These invisible symptoms are often more harmful than the visible ones. But because we can't see them, because they're not part of the "classic presentation," women suffer in complete silence.

The statistics tell the story we're too exhausted to keep repeating: up to 70% of PCOS cases remain undiagnosed worldwide. One-third of women take more than two years to receive a diagnosis. Nearly half see three or more health professionals before someone finally listens. And depression affects 11-25% of women with PCOS, while anxiety affects 28-39%—far higher than the general population.

We're not just talking about inconvenient symptoms. We're talking about a chronic condition that costs Australia more than $800 million annually in healthcare—and immeasurable losses in mental health, careers, relationships, and lives.

Why WHO Magazine Featuring PCOS Matters

When WHO Magazine published their feature on The Khush Place, they weren't just writing about a supplement. They were writing about the system failure that affects one in ten Australian women. They were giving voice to the women who've been told they're fine when they're not. They were creating space for a conversation that should have been happening decades ago.

Read the full WHO Magazine feature here: How two Aussie sisters solved this brutal problem facing 1 in 10 women

Mainstream media coverage creates something critical: permission. Permission for women to talk about their hormones without shame. Permission for partners to educate themselves. Permission for employers to understand why hormonal health affects workplace wellbeing. Permission for young women to recognise symptoms early, before years of damage are done.

WHO's audience reaches millions of Australian women—many who might not even know they have PCOS yet. Women who think their irregular periods are "just stress." Women who've been told to "just lose weight" without anyone investigating why weight loss feels impossible. Women who are silently struggling with anxiety and depression, never knowing these symptoms are connected to a diagnosable, manageable condition.

When a trusted publication validates PCOS as a serious health concern—not just a "women's issue" to whisper about—it puts pressure on the healthcare system to do better. To diagnose faster. To treat the whole person, not just prescribe the pill and send women away.

This Movement Is Bigger Than Us

My sister Amy and I didn't create The Khush Place because we're business moguls or supplement entrepreneurs. We created it because the system failed both of us, and we knew we couldn't be the only ones.

Amy was diagnosed with PCOS at just 20 years old. She was told she had a 5% chance of falling pregnant naturally. Let that sink in—at 20, before she'd even started thinking about having children, she was told her body likely couldn't do the one thing society tells women their bodies are made to do.

Between us, we have over 15 years immersed in women's health research—me through my devastating personal journey and Amy through her work in healthcare and her own PCOS diagnosis. We watched each other struggle. We researched endlessly. We pieced together advice from nutritionists, naturopaths, endocrinologists, trying to find something—anything—that addressed PCOS as the whole-body condition it is, not just as isolated symptoms to medicate away.

WHO Magazine recognised what we were trying to do: create a single, evidence-based solution that addresses hormonal balance, metabolic function, and mental wellbeing simultaneously. Not three different supplements from three different specialists. Not a rotating door of doctor's appointments that cost thousands annually. Just one formulation, developed with registered holistic nutritionists and leading Australian naturopaths, that treats PCOS the way it should have been treated all along—as an interconnected system, not a checklist of symptoms.

You can read more about Balance Me and our approach in the WHO Magazine article here

But we're just one voice in a growing chorus. This movement is bigger than The Khush Place. It's bigger than any single brand or advocate. Every researcher fighting for PCOS funding, every health practitioner challenging outdated medical training, every woman sharing her story bravely—we're all standing on the shoulders of women who've been advocating for decades, often without recognition or support.

When our customers reach out, their words fuel everything we do:

"I've been taking for at least 5 months, and it's seriously life changing! New me!" – Brydie

"I purchased the hormone balance hoping I'd see a little change to my energy levels and I have been blown away by the changes in a few short weeks. If you're feeling hopeless, just order it." – Kerby

These messages aren't about sales or revenue. They're about women who finally feel heard. Who finally have hope. Who are reclaiming their bodies and their futures.

"I lost two babies, my motherhood, and my marriage to PCOS. But I've been gifted the experience, knowledge, and strength to lead the charge toward a future where women don't face the same avoidable life-threatening heartbreak I did."

What Needs to Change—And It Needs to Change Now

The PCOS crisis isn't just about diagnosis delays or lack of information. It's systemic. Here's what must change:

1. Better GP Education

Doctors need to recognise that PCOS doesn't always look "textbook." They need to stop dismissing women with atypical presentations. They need to understand that telling someone to "just lose weight" without investigating why weight loss is impossible is medical negligence. And they absolutely must recognise the mental health connection instead of treating anxiety and depression as separate, unrelated issues.

2. Hormone Health Education in Schools

We teach teenagers about reproduction, but we don't teach them about hormonal health. Girls need to learn what a healthy cycle looks like, what signs to watch for, and that struggling with these symptoms isn't "normal" or something to just push through. Early education could prevent years—decades—of suffering.

3. Workplace Understanding

Hormonal health affects everything: productivity, mental health, career trajectories, sick leave. Employers need education about PCOS and other hormonal conditions so women aren't penalised for symptoms they can't control.

4. More Research Funding

PCOS affects up to 13% of reproductive-aged women, yet it's chronically underfunded compared to conditions affecting similar numbers of people. We need better treatments, better understanding, better care.

5. End the Stigma

Talking about periods shouldn't be taboo. Talking about hormones shouldn't be embarrassing. Talking about fertility struggles shouldn't be whispered. These are health issues—life-altering, sometimes life-threatening health issues—and they deserve to be discussed openly, without shame.

There Is Hope on the Other Side

I won't lie to you: my PCOS journey nearly killed me. I was hospitalised for depression. I experienced anxiety so severe during IVF that I couldn't continue treatment. I lost pregnancies, lost my marriage, lost the future I'd worked for my entire life.

But here's what I gained: purpose.

I am at peace now. I've found a future I'm genuinely passionate about—one where I help women avoid the avoidable heartbreak I experienced. God made me resilient beyond measure and determined beyond words. I didn't go through all of this for nothing. I've been gifted the experience, knowledge, and strength to lead the charge toward a future where women don't spend years being dismissed, where young adults learn about their hormones before something goes wrong, where PCOS is diagnosed early and treated holistically.

Every time PCOS shows up in mainstream media—like this WHO Magazine feature—we move the needle. Every woman who shares her story removes the stigma a little more. Every doctor who listens instead of dismisses saves a woman from years of suffering.

You're part of this conversation now.

What You Can Do

Whether you have PCOS, suspect you might, or know someone who does—you have power in this movement:

Talk about it openly. Break the silence. Share your story. The more we normalise these conversations, the faster things change.

Educate yourself and others. Share resources. Help the women in your life recognise symptoms. Support partners, friends, daughters who are struggling.

Access evidence-based information:

• Jean Hailes for Women's Health – Comprehensive Australian resource covering all aspects of PCOS, including mental health and natural therapies

• AskPCOS App – Free, evidence-based app developed by leading PCOS experts worldwide, reaching 60,000+ women in 196 countries

If you suspect you have PCOS: Don't wait for permission. Advocate for yourself. Demand the blood tests. Ask about insulin resistance even if you don't fit the "typical" presentation. Get second opinions. Your body is telling you something—trust it.

The conversation is changing. And you're part of it.

When WHO Magazine chose to feature The Khush Place, they chose to validate the struggle of over a million Australian women. They chose to platform a conversation that's been happening in whispers for too long. They chose to recognise that PCOS isn't just a "women's problem"—it's a public health crisis that deserves attention, funding, research, and systemic change.

This feature isn't the destination—it's a milestone.

Together, we're building a future where no woman spends years wondering what's wrong with her body. Where no teenage girl is diagnosed at 20 and told she has a 5% chance of natural pregnancy. Where no woman loses her mental health, her marriage, her sense of self to a condition that could have been diagnosed and managed years earlier.

We're building a future where women with PCOS are heard, believed, and supported.

And that future starts now.

Heidi Andrews is the co-founder of The Khush Place and creator of Balance Me, Australia's first TGA-listed supplement designed specifically to address hormonal balance, metabolic function, and mental wellbeing in women with PCOS. After navigating years of misdiagnosis and medical dismissal, she's dedicated to ensuring no woman faces the same journey alone.

Read the full WHO Magazine feature: How two Aussie sisters solved this brutal problem facing 1 in 10 women