Inside Bleed Better: Dr Talat Uppal's Mission to Change Women's Health

In this episode of BluePrint MedTalks, our co-founder Michael Fernandes sits down with Dr Talat Uppal, a Sydney-based gynaecologist and one of Australia's leading voices in women's health.   Talat shares her remarkable journey, from being born in Pakistan, growing up in Africa, and completing her medical degree in Nigeria, to founding Australia's first Abnormal Uterine Bleeding Management Hub.   She opens up about co-founding the Bleed Better charity, establishing International Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Day on 11 May, and what it's like to balance her clinical work as Director of Women's Health Road with her role as Clinical Senior Lecturer in O&G at Macquarie University, all while raising three children in Sydney. She shares: Why a condition that affects 1 in 4 women of reproductive age is still widely normalised in families, with women suffering for years before seeking help. The frustration that drove her to found Bleed Better, after constantly seeing women walk into her clinic anaemic and iron deficient with a condition that is both common and treatable. Why heavy menstrual bleeding is one of the most treatable conditions in women's health, and how a single intervention could change lives that have been compromised for years. What she sees on the menopause side of bleeding, including why 40% of women on menopausal hormone therapy will experience abnormal bleeding, and why so many stop their treatment as a result. Her early adoption of AI in clinical practice, and how she uses Heidi to structure every patient consult around four key cycle questions. Her ongoing work with CSIRO and Macquarie University, including PhD research into building smarter clinical tools and AI agents to support women navigating the system. Why she's exploring AI in ultrasound interpretation, and how technology can help detect fibroids and adenomyosis more effectively. What it was like training as a medical student in Nigeria, including the burden of eclampsia and watching young women die from preventable conditions, and how it shaped her view of access and equity in healthcare. Why she chose to do locum work in regional Australia, and what working in places like Roma taught her about the resourcefulness required outside metropolitan healthcare systems. Her perspective on the rise of medical misinformation on social media, and the patients arriving in her clinic having delayed treatment for years because of what they've seen on TikTok. Why she sees women as the central force in changing the narrative around this condition, and how partners, friends, and colleagues can play a role in supporting women to seek care. What she believes needs to change in schools and workplaces to create safer spaces for young women and girls to talk about their cycles. If you work in women's health, are interested in AI in medicine, or want to understand why a common and treatable condition has been overlooked for so long, this is an episode you won't want to miss.