The news: The use of estrogen-based hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is rising, roughly doubling since 2023, according to a Truveta Research review of February data.

• Among women ages 45 to 54, HRT prescriptions increased 26% between July 2025 and February 2026.
• Prescriptions rose 20% among women ages 55 to 64 over the same period.

Catch up quick: The FDA removed black box warnings from estrogen HRT prescription drugs in November. The warnings—the agency’s strongest safety alert—flagged risks for heart disease, stroke, and cancer starting in 2003. In June, an FDA advisory panel said those risks were overstated and that benefits outweigh risks for women younger than 60 or within 10 years of menopause.

Why it matters: Although doctors could still prescribe HRT from 2003 to 2025, safety concerns and lingering controversy gave it a risk-laden reputation, leading to more conservative prescribing that’s now changing.

• In 1999, 27% of postmenopausal women took hormone therapies, compared with only 4.7% in 2020, per a JAMA study published in November.
• Drugmakers, including Pfizer and Bayer, worked with the FDA to remove the warnings, with Pfizer calling the move “an important step in destigmatizing” the treatment.
• Telehealth providers are now expanding into HRT. Hims & Hers added perimenopause and menopause services in October 2025, while Noom and WeightWatchers launched HRT services in February and September 2025, respectively.

Implications for HRT and telehealth brands: As HRT moves closer to becoming a standard of care—especially for menopause—it’s opening new space for brands to join a conversation that’s gaining traction. Women are bringing what was once a taboo topic into public health and social media discussions, with celebrity voices like Halle Berry and Oprah Winfrey helping drive visibility.

With many women actively seeking menopause guidance, how marketers frame the life stage and treatment options will help determine not just whether HRT becomes a standard of care, but whether that shift is empathetic, destigmatizing, and genuinely useful.

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