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Digital Pregnancy Care is Here to Stay

09.09.2021 by Medicus Team

How can femtech enhance women’s special journey to delivery? How can it help them start that journey when they’re having difficulties in conceiving?

A common understatement that you may hear these days is that the world has been affected by the Pandemic. Let’s get something straight, the world has not merely been “affected” by the Pandemic, it has completely transformed, or let’s say, tele-transformed. The Pandemic has had an obscene amount of negative consequences on the world, yet, dare we say it, there are a few players that have somewhat benefitted from the situation, players that encourage and believe in virtual, digitally-powered transactions.

As lockdowns increasingly spread in all four corners of the world, companies, institutions, governments, and entire industries were forced to develop their remote capabilities or risk falling behind. The digital health industry, by definition, employs remote modalities to accelerate output and improve results. All digital health businesses should realistically benefit from the world’s new penchant for remote living. The femtech industry in particular, has seen unprecedented growth, and businesses focusing on female pregnancy now have a grand stage to perform. End-users across the globe have grown more accepting of health apps and e-solutions and once they fully buy into these technologies, there will be no going back.

One therefore has to ask, how is pregnancy treated in a post-pandemic world? How can femtech enhance women’s special journey to delivery? How can it help them start that journey when they’re having difficulties in conceiving? What sort of cutting-edge solutions will cater to women’s pregnancy needs and provide them with the best, and most comfortable, experience? We take a look at existing and up-and-coming businesses offering digital care through online platforms and user-friendly apps which are expected to further grow.

✦ Maven Clinic

The next generation of care for women and families. These are the first words that will catch your eye on their homepage. Their presence in this list is therefore pretty justified. Maven has one of the most diverse networks of practitioners in its field with more than 30 specialties and 350 subspecialties across women’s and family health. Having served more than 10 million patients, Maven’s current value exceeds $1 billion. They have also recently raised $110 million in Series D financing, which is quite impressive for a business that was founded in 2014. Maven offers a host of services including on-demand video appointments with practitioners, dedicated care, personalized content, and an inclusive experience for mom and family.

✦ Tia Clinic

According to Pitchbook, Tia raised $24 million in Series A financing in 2020, which is a sign of things to come. Tia adopts a whole person care approach with principles including Body Literacy and Shared Decision Making. Its gynecology department focuses on evidence-based wellness and combines gynecology with primary care to provide a complete cohesive experience. It offers a blend of virtual and in-person solutions with a Whole Health Exam developed to ensure consistent contact between patient and practitioner throughout the year.

✦ Alife

For aspiring mothers struggling with fertility, Alife may be an answer for their misfortunes. Although they are yet to release a product, Alife have already raised $9.5 million in seed funding. Founded in 2020, the startup aims to enhance in vitro fertilization (IVF) with AI-powered software and a data-driven personalized approach. IVFs are known to incur high costs with a relatively humble success rate (21.3% for women under 35 according to Penn Medicine). As such, femtech experts are in a constant pursuit of technological breakthroughs to reduce costs for hopeful patients and raise their chances of bringing a precious person into the world.

We may be quite far from ending COVID-19 and truly reaching a post-pandemic stage. Yet, one thing is clear, human intelligence and innovation will keep stimulating evolution even in a restricted environment. Some ideas might have been ahead of their time when they first started, others might have been undervalued and abandoned. The digital pregnancy market is however, without a shadow of doubt, here to stay, and grow. The three aforementioned companies are nothing but a few examples of what is to come. Public institutions, such as the UK National Health Service (NHS), are also making advances on the digital front. In late March 2020, and in response to COVID-19, the NHS secured a digital system, produced by Sensyne Health, to help remotely monitor women with diabetes during pregnancy. The system was deployed for free across all NHS Trusts.

“There is now a greater focus than ever before on the use of remote patient monitoring” according to Lord Paul Drayson, CEO of Sensyne Health.

Other players such as Babyscripts, and our very own soon-to-be-unveiled K+ application aim to bridge the digital divide, and serve expecting mothers through their prenatal journeys, and beyond. The next generation of Women Health solutions is taking shape, and we are definitely expecting.

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