Between school drop-offs, work, appointments, groceries, after-school activities, family admin and remembering what everyone else needs, it can be surprisingly easy for mums to put their own health somewhere near the bottom of the list.
Women’s Health Week runs from 7–11 September 2026, and perhaps its most important message this year is a very simple one: your health deserves some attention too.
Run by Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, Women’s Health Week is Australia’s largest event dedicated to the health and wellbeing of women, girls and gender-diverse people.
This year’s theme is “Do it anyway” – encouraging women to take small, realistic steps towards better health, on their own terms.
That might mean booking an appointment you’ve been putting off. It could be going for a walk, getting to bed earlier, calling a friend or simply giving yourself permission to rest.
It doesn’t need to be a dramatic health overhaul.
Five Days, Five Reminders to Look After Yourself
Each day of Women’s Health Week 2026 explores a different part of our health and wellbeing.
Day 1 – To Fuel
Monday starts with nutrition.
Rather than complicated diets or chasing perfection, the focus is on practical nutrition and the simple food habits that can make a difference to how we feel.
For busy mums, perhaps the question is particularly simple: Are you actually looking after yourself as well as you look after everyone else?
We can spend plenty of time thinking about what’s going into lunchboxes and what’s for dinner while grabbing whatever is quickest for ourselves.
This week might be a good opportunity to change that – even just a little.
Day 2 – To Move
Tuesday is about movement, but importantly, it challenges the idea that exercise has to be intense, structured or time-consuming to count.
Living in the Eastern Suburbs gives us plenty of opportunities to move without necessarily heading into a gym.
Walk the Bondi to Coogee coastal path, take the dog around Centennial Park, swim some laps, walk along Maroubra Beach or simply get outside for 20 minutes between everything else happening in your day.
The best exercise doesn’t always have to be the hardest exercise.
Sometimes it’s simply the one you actually enjoy enough to keep doing.
Day 3 – To Rest
Now here’s one many mums could probably use.
Wednesday focuses on rest and sleep.
Good sleep can have an enormous impact on our wellbeing, but Jean Hailes notes there are many reasons women can struggle with it, including anxiety, perimenopause, pain, shift work and having small children.
You may not be able to magically create eight uninterrupted hours of sleep, but you can start paying attention to whether rest has disappeared from your priorities altogether.
Maybe it’s an earlier night.
Maybe it’s putting the phone down.
Maybe it’s saying no to something.
And sometimes, perhaps, it’s accepting that sitting down and doing absolutely nothing for a while is actually allowed.
Day 4 – To Breathe
Thursday turns the attention to mental wellbeing.
Women can become very good at keeping everything moving even when they’re struggling themselves.
Jean Hailes’ resources for the day explore different aspects of mental health, including recognising when it might be time to ask for help.
Women’s Health Week is a useful reminder that mental health deserves the same attention as physical health.
If something hasn’t felt right for a while, don’t automatically dismiss it because you’re busy or because other people need you.
Starting a conversation can be a small but important first step.
Day 5 – To Connect
The week finishes with something that can easily be overlooked as life gets busier: connection.
It doesn’t need to mean organising a huge girls’ night.
It could be sending a voice message to the friend you haven’t spoken to for months, joining a local community group, having coffee with another mum after school drop-off or stopping to chat with a neighbour.
Jean Hailes is encouraging women to think about those small opportunities for connection and the role they can play in our wellbeing.
And for mums in particular, it’s a good reminder that being surrounded by people isn’t necessarily the same thing as feeling connected.
What’s Happening Around Sydney?
There are also opportunities to get involved locally.
City of Sydney Leisure Centres are celebrating Women’s Health Week with workshops and wellbeing activities across several centres, including Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre, Cook + Phillip Park Pool, Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre and Victoria Park Pool.
It’s worth checking individual centres for the latest activities and availability.
You can also visit the Jean Hailes Women’s Health Week website, where you’ll find information, practical advice, expert resources and women’s stories covering each of this year’s daily themes.
Explore Women’s Health & Wellbeing on ESM
Women’s Health Week might last five days, but looking after yourself is something worth thinking about all year round.
If this week has inspired you to make a little more time for your own health and wellbeing, have a look around the Eastern Suburbs Mums Directory. You’ll find local businesses, services and activities that can help you get moving, slow down, feel stronger or simply carve out some much-needed time for yourself.
Some areas to explore include:
- Yoga – find local studios and classes for everything from gentle yoga to more challenging sessions.
- Pilates & Reformer Pilates – a popular option for building strength, flexibility and balance.
- Gyms & Fitness – discover local gyms, personal trainers, group fitness and other ways to get moving.
- Massage & Wellness – because recovery, relaxation and taking some time out matter too.
- Women’s Health Services – explore local health professionals and services supporting women through different stages of life.
- Physiotherapy – including services that can help with strength, mobility, recovery and women’s health.
- Nutrition – find local professionals who can provide guidance around food, nutrition and healthy habits.
- Mental Health & Wellbeing – discover psychologists, counsellors and other local wellbeing services.
- Beauty & Self-Care – sometimes making time to do something purely for yourself can be part of feeling good too.
- Walking, Running & Outdoor Activities – explore ideas for getting outside and making the most of the Eastern Suburbs.
- Mums & Community Groups – because connection can be just as important to our wellbeing as exercise and nutrition.
You can also search ESM for articles covering fitness, healthy eating, local walks, Pilates, yoga, wellbeing, community activities and things to do around the Eastern Suburbs.
Start With Just One Thing
You don’t need to tackle everything at once.
Perhaps Women’s Health Week is simply the prompt to find a local Pilates class you’ve been meaning to try, book that massage, join a fitness group, make an overdue health appointment or reconnect with other local mums.
Explore the Eastern Suburbs Mums Directory and discover what’s available locally.
Women’s Health Week 2026
When: 7–11 September 2026
2026 theme: Do it anyway
More information: Jean Hailes for Women’s Health
