Hemma means “home” in Swedish—and that’s the feeling we’re bringing back to midlife care: simplicity, honesty, and support that truly gets you.
When people ask me about the name "Hemma," I can see the moment they make the connection. Their faces soften slightly. Something clicks.
"Home," they say. "It means home."
Yes. But it's more than that.
The Word We Needed
In Swedish, "hemma" doesn't just mean the physical place where you live. It carries a feeling that's harder to translate, a sense of being where you belong, where you can finally exhale, where you don't have to perform or prove anything. It's safety and comfort and authenticity, all wrapped into one word.
When I was building this company, I tried dozens of names. Medical-sounding ones that felt too clinical. Empowerment-focused ones that felt too vague. Wellness words that had been diluted by overuse.
Nothing felt right until I landed on Hemma.
Because that's exactly what's been missing from midlife women's healthcare: that feeling of being home. Of being understood. Of not having to translate your experience into language that minimizes it or makes it acceptable to someone who doesn't get it.
What Healthcare Feels Like Now
Let me paint a picture.
You're sitting in a doctor's office, trying to explain what's happening to your body. You've brought notes because you were worried you'd forget something important. Hot flashes, yes, but also this bone-deep exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix. Brain fog that makes you feel like you're losing yourself. Weight gain that appeared seemingly overnight. Mood swings that don't match your actual life circumstances.
The doctor is typing, not making eye contact. You're speaking faster now, trying to get it all out before the appointment ends. You can feel yourself shrinking, making your symptoms sound less severe than they are, because you don't want to seem dramatic or difficult.
"It's probably just part of aging," they say, still typing. "Have you tried exercising more? Eating better? Managing your stress?"
You leave with no answers, a vague handout about menopause, and the sinking feeling that you just weren't taken seriously. Again.
That's the opposite of hemma.
The Scandinavian Approach to Care
I grew up between cultures, with deep roots in Scandinavia and years building my career across international markets. And I've always been struck by how different the Nordic approach to wellbeing is from what I've experienced in the U.S.
It's not that Scandinavian healthcare is perfect. But there is a fundamental philosophy that shapes everything: the belief that complexity can be made simple, and that expertise doesn't require coldness.
Think about how Scandinavian design works. Clean lines. Nothing extraneous. Every element serves a purpose. It's beautiful precisely because it's functional, not in spite of it. There's no ornamentation trying to distract you from poor quality underneath.
That same principle applies to how we've built Hemma.
Soft Strength
There's a concept in Scandinavian design and culture: "soft strength."
It's the idea that power doesn't have to be loud or harsh or overwhelming. That you can be both gentle and formidable. That caring and capability aren't opposites, they're partners.
This is what midlife women need from healthcare. Not sterile medical appointments that make you feel like a collection of symptoms. Not fluffy wellness advice that ignores the actual science of what's happening in your body. But something that honors both; the medical credibility and the human experience.
Soft strength means
This is harder to build than either extreme. It would be easier to be purely clinical (just the facts, no emotion) or purely wellness-focused (all feeling, light on science). The middle ground requires more thought, more care, and more attention to detail.
But to me, that's where the real value lives.
Why Simplicity Matters More Than You Think
In my opinion, American healthcare has a complexity problem.
Getting appropriate care for perimenopause or menopause typically requires navigating insurance networks, finding a provider who knows about hormonal health (harder than it sounds), booking appointments weeks or months out, taking time off work, maybe getting referred to another specialist, more waiting, more appointments, conflicting advice from different sources, and somehow piecing it all together yourself.
The system wasn't designed to be this complicated. It evolved into complexity through decades of added layers, each one individually justified but collectively creating a maze that's nearly impossible to navigate when you're already exhausted.
Scandinavian design philosophy asks a simple question: What if we removed everything that doesn't serve the user?
At Hemma, that means:
This isn't about dumbing things down. It's about respecting that your cognitive load is already maxed out and we have no business adding to it.
Trust Through Transparency
There's another Scandinavian value that shaped Hemma: radical transparency.
In Sweden, tax records are public. Salary ranges are openly discussed. There's less tolerance for corporate spin and more expectation of straightforward communication. This creates a culture where trust is built through honesty, not marketing.
We've tried to bring that same ethos to Hemma:
This level of transparency makes some people in healthcare marketing nervous. But here's what I've learned: Midlife women are smart enough to handle nuance. They don't need to be protected from complexity. They just need to be given the tools to navigate it.
Home Is Where You're Understood
Bottom line, here is what I want Hemma to feel like when you use it:
That moment when you're talking to someone who just gets it without you having to explain or justify or translate your experience. That exhale when you realize you don't have to perform or prove anything. That relief of finally being in hands you trust, with people who respect your intelligence and lived experience.
That feeling of coming home after a long day in spaces that weren't built for you, to a place that is.
This isn't just brand philosophy, it's a commitment to how we build every piece of the Hemma experience. From the words we use on the website to how our customer support team responds to messages to how providers conduct consultations to how we design symptom trackers.
Every decision gets filtered through this question: Does this make women feel more at home, or less?
Why This Matters for Your Health
You might be thinking: "This is nice, but does the feeling of 'home' actually affect my health outcomes?"
Yes. Absolutely yes.
Research on patient experience consistently shows that when people feel respected, heard, and understood by their healthcare providers, they're more likely to:
The opposite is equally true. When you don't feel safe or respected in a healthcare setting, you minimize symptoms, avoid follow-ups, stop treatments early, and disengage from your own care.
The feeling of being home isn't separate from the quality of care. It's an essential component of it.
Building Something Different
The way I see it, American healthcare is optimized for acute problems. You break your arm, you go to the ER, they fix it, you're done. It's transactional, episodic, problem-focused.
But midlife isn't a problem to solve. It's a transition to navigate, a years-long journey that requires ongoing support, adjustment, and partnership between you and your care team.
For that kind of care, you need a different model. One built on continuity, understanding, and partnership.
You need a place that feels like home.
What Hemma Means to Me
I started this company because I lived the alternative. I know what it's like to sit in doctor's offices feeling dismissed. To piece together information from random internet sources because no one would give me straight answers. To manage symptoms alone because the system made getting help harder than just dealing with it.
Creating Hemma is my way of building what I needed when I was navigating perimenopause while working fulltime, raising kids solo, and trying to stay functional through hormonal chaos that no one prepared me for.
That is why the name isn't just branding. It's a promise. A promise that when you come to Hemma, you'll be met with respect for your intelligence, compassion for your experience, and evidence-based care delivered with Scandinavian simplicity and warmth.
A promise that you don't have to choose between medical credibility and being treated like a human being.
A promise that in a healthcare system that often feels cold, complicated, and dismissive, there's finally a place built for you.
Welcome home. Welcome to Hemma.
Disclaimer
Hemma Wellness Group provides educational resources, digital tools, and access to licensed healthcare professionals through affiliated U.S. platforms. We do not provide medical care, and the information on this website is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical concerns. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or seek emergency care immediately. Use of this website and related services does not establish a doctor-patient relationship with Hemma Wellness Group or its team. All clinical services are delivered by licensed U.S. providers through secure, HIPAA-compliant platforms.