Issue 32: $2m for MIM Fertility | Two acquisitions in period care | Postpartum long-term health issues
+ lots more in your weekly news about the business of female health and FemTech
Hi! Welcome to issue #32 of FutureFemHealth, here to bring you your weekly news about women’s health innovation and FemTech (w/c 11 December 2023).
🌟 Coming up today we’ve got:
🌎 1 in 3 new mothers affected by long-term health issues
📌 $2m for MIM Fertility
🩸 Two acquisitions in period care
🔥 News from Maven, Kindbody, Evernow and more
Got news to share from the world of FemTech and women’s health innovation? Let me know at anna@futurefemhealth.com
❤️ 1 in 3 new mothers affected by lasting health issues
A staggering 40 million women a year now experience lasting health issues after childbirth.
In many cases long-term conditions are lasting for months or even years after giving birth.
One in three new mothers worldwide are now affected, according to the new global study in the Lancet Global Health and eClinicalMedicine.
“Many postpartum conditions cause considerable suffering in women’s daily life long after birth, both emotionally and physically, and yet they are largely underappreciated, underrecognised, and underreported,” said Prof Pascale Allotey, director of sexual and reproductive health and research at the World Health Organisation, which backed the study.
Researchers now call for greater recognition within the healthcare system of these common problems, such as pain during sex, incontinence, anxiety, lower back pain and more.
Many of the health issues occur beyond the point where women typically have access to postnatal services.
I really resonate with this one - my six-week postpartum check came and went a long time ago and now 18 months on I’m still experiencing lower back pain which I’m sure is connected to childbirth.
Researchers also found that data gaps were significant (no surprises there) - with no nationally representative or global studies for any of the postpartum conditions identified through the research.
Ultimately the recommendation here is one we’ve heard before - we need more research, we need more data and we need more support for health postpartum.
The start-ups working on next-gen postpartum care
Elsewhere, filling the gap in postpartum care is a growing number of FemTech start-ups - particularly focusing on mental health support in the ‘fourth trimester’.
US-based Partum Health (which raised $3.1m in September) and Boram Care postnatal retreat are two of many featured in this great feature in Well+Good.
💰 Funding, deals and investment news
📌 POLAND: $2m for MIM Fertility. AI tech and reproductive medicine combine to assess embryos, identify and analyse ovarian follicles and help to address infertility challenges. This seed round for MIM Fertility was funded by Warsaw VCs Tangent Line and Peleton (not the bikes!) (Source: My Company)
📌 CANADA: Natural period pain relief company Somedays acquires Aisle period underwear. Back in 1993 when Aisle (then named Lunapads) set out to replace single-use period care products, it was one of the first on the market. Somedays has now acquired Aisle to create a period care company for the future. “We are confident that the vision of universal, sustainable access to menstrual care we've championed will continue to flourish for generations to come,” said Aisle co-founder Suzanne Sieman. Terms undisclosed. (Source: Access Wire)
📌 USA: Sustainable period care brand The Flex Co. acquires sexual health education platform Allbodies. A second acquisition announced in the period care sector. This time an opportunity for Flex to activate its brand through community. Allbodies will “help Flex establish a strong leadership voice and stance in the period health space, become a household name, keep growing and deeply engaging our customers and those who love them” said Allbodies co-founder Lauren Billie. (Source: Beauty Independent)
📌 The missed opportunity for investors. James Benedict, chairman of Goddess Gaia Ventures writes on the topic of women's health as a missed opportunity for investors: "Having spent nearly three decades in private equity and venture capital, this is my biggest piece of advice: take the [women's health] sector seriously and approach it as you would any other investment sector. You will be handsomely rewarded for doing so." (Source: FTadviser)
🌟 More news from this week
📌 Maven’s virtual doulas can reduce need for c-sections by 60%. A peer review study by the global virtual clinic Maven has shown it can reduce the odds of a C-section at comparable rates to in-person care - with the greatest impact seen among Black members. "This work demonstrates an intentional use of digital technology to enable racial equity in maternal health and is a substantial scientific contribution," said Dr. Rachel Hardeman from the University of Minnesota and a member of Maven's Scientific Advisory Board. (Source: Maven)
📌 Kindbody fertility reports high growth. Leading national fertility clinic network and employer benefits provider Kindbody has been under fire recently. One damning piece of Bloomberg coverage reported errors with embryos, flooded clinics and employee whistleblowing. A second, just a few weeks ago, reported larger-than-expected operating losses. Now Kindbody has come out fighting by announcing that it’s on track to generate revenue of approximately $180m in 2023 - a 50% organic year-over-year growth. Kindbody sets itself apart by offering employers hybrid support for its employees through both virtual and a network of 33 in-person clinics. (Source: Kindbody)
📌 Evernow menopause care partners with Talkspace to boost mental health support. Evernow’s users will benefit from self-guided therapy sessions, therapist-led workshops and journaling exercises thanks to a partnership with virtual mental health company Talkspace. “There is strong evidence linking anxiety and depression to the perimenopause transition” said Dr Alicia Jackson CEO and Founder of Evernow. (Source: Behavioral Health Business)
📌 Menopause - the next big benefits trend? Employer benefits is an in-demand business model for women’s health as businesses catch-on to the role they can play in supporting health and retaining staff. Now a new study by benefits consultant NFP suggests that in the US there’s plenty of scope too - since just 4% of US employers currently offer menopause accommodations - but a third are considering adding them in the next five years. (Source: HR executive)
📌 Will new tech end the need for human pregnancy? As the science creating artificial wombs improves, the possibilities this brings comes closer. Time then, to explore the societal and ethical impact of these technologies. (Source: The Walrus)
📌 The gender pain gap: why it’s time to take women’s health more seriously. Dr Michelle Griffin writes on this important topic and the financial, emotional and work-related consequences if we don’t take action. (Source: BBC Science Focus)
📄 Govt & policy news
📌 US: Monica M Bertagnolli MD becomes 17th Director of The National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the biomedical research agency for the USA and the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. Dr Bertagnolli becomes the first surgeon and second woman to hold the position. One of her top priorities will be to ensure clinical trials yield the best results by increasing the diversity of participants. (Source: NIH)
📌 US: The hospitals providing vital maternity care. It’s estimated 2.2m women live in ‘maternity care deserts’ where access to a hospital that provides obstetric care is unavailable. Now US News has identified 73 hospitals that are in such critical locations that they are stopping more ‘deserts’ emerging. (Source: US News)
✅ Job opportunities
📌 Head of Operations, Hertility (Remote / London). Fancy helping to run one of the leading at-home hormone and fertility test start-ups? This is the role for you!
📌 Quality Assurance and Regulatory Manager, Hertility (Remote / London).
📌 Head of Content Operations, Peppy (Remote, UK) One of Europe’s fastest growing healthtech startups, focusing on underserved areas of healthcare including menopause and fertility.
📌 Senior Full Stack Engineer, Peppy (Remote, UK)
📌 CRM Lead (6 month contract), Peppy (Remote, UK)
📌 Various open roles, Pomelo Care (US). The value-based maternity and infant care platform is hiring in lots of roles: engineering, clinicians, product, operations, finance, partnerships, people ops.
📌 Gynae expert or sexual health researcher, OhMyV (Berlin, Germany). Bring your knowledge of vulva health to this early start-up disrupting the condom market with a product that prioritises vulva health. The team is also looking for a creative materials / chemical engineer or researcher.
That’s all for this week! Join me next week for the last issue of 2023 - see you then.
Anna