Innovations in Womxn Healthcare— FemTech
Womxn: the inclusivity of trans and nonbinary females + another way to say women without “men” added on
What exactly is FemTech?
According to Wikipedia FemTech is a term applied to a category of software, diagnostics, products, and services that use technology often to focus on women’s health. This sector includes fertility solutions, period-tracking app, pregnancy and nursing care, women’s sexual wellness, and reproductive system health care.
No. FemTech is not about slapping a generic and stereotypical pink color on an existing gadget. It’s more of going through the above and beyond to construct contemporary groundbreaking products to enhance women’s health. It’s an attempt to find a solution to solving the dilemmas that generations of women have been facing.
It is about innovating creations that fill a need for it to be effective coming from a process where women were involved in their own designs. This industry is rising as venture capital funding and investments throughout FemTech totals around $1.69 billion in the first half of 2019. Which could leave an estimate for it to cross around $9 billion by 2024.
Which overall is not surprising considering surveys are 75%-85% likely to use digital tools for health care needs. Yet innovations within this industry can lie along with multiple subcategories.
Which mainly includes:
- Menstruation & Period Care Products
- Fertility & Birth Control
- Menopause
- Chronic Conditions & Hormonal Disorders
- Pelvic Health
- Pregnancy & Post Pregnancy
- Breast Feeding
- Sexual Wellness
- General Healthcare
The Gender Barriers in Health Care
For years both technology and medicine were focused on the needs of men and women were expected to adapt. For the show, fitness trackers would compare to men’s averages rather than womxn's when in regards to gender.
Clinical trials allowed researchers, clinicians, and doctors to perform studies on people that would be varying between a medical surgery or behavioral intervention to figure new treatments, new drugs, diagnosis, or diets for a certain disease that would be safe and effective for people.
Yet not until 1993 did Congress write an NIH inclusion policy in the Federal law through a section in the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–43) titled Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research… which means the allowance of women in clinical research studies.
That was probably a big loaded statement, but breaking it down before 1993 womxn were not allowed to have the priority to be involved in clinical trials. As clinical trials were not adequately enrolled to analyze sex-specific differentiation in data. Which is insane. The difference between male and female does not surround different genitals or physical appearances, but the different biological structures within.
Sex differences should be observed as in various disease states in different prevalences, diagnosis, severities, and outcomes. As the deficiencies that hindered the process of understanding womxn’s responses to medications and treatments are diverse between men, understanding the differences in clinical decision-making is crucial.
In a sense, the mold of how treatments and diagnosis are formed through one’s symptoms was figured through the outcomes of how men reacted to a trial and what benefited them. So in the sense womxn’s health care was not really focused on, until now.
Controversial or a Necessity?
Breakthroughs of the latest development in womxn’s health generated controversies and arguments surrounding the term FemTech; that contribute to the problems it is trying to solve.
In the instance when Oliva Goldhill stated, “ Though the word “FemTech,” may have served the valiant role of protecting some men from talking about periods, taking a narrow group of products and labeling them “female” has unfortunate consequences. This designation effectively implies that half the population is a niche sub-category with a series of body-specific needs. Where, after all, is the talk of “MenTech”?” in the news outlet quartz.
Having the dislike-ness of FemTech as it is thought to be the wrong term because it designates womxn as the “other” or difference between male while men stay constant. However, why do we need the “Fem” label? If we want this tech to be used as normality why don’t we act like it just is? — Well there's an obvious division between men and female, but is failing to acknowledge non-binary individuals where the division is not to exclude.
Throughout the tech industry or even history, there was no priority on women’s health. So why not make it, it’s its own thing? There needs to be worth the notice of how FemTech companies as a definition are creating solutions to complex problems within womxn’s health, wherein the long term society would be rewarded with healthier women.
It shouldn’t be seen as a controversial term as it shows the advancements of goals to contribute to the current larger population to be healthier as well as the future generations.
Challenges Faced in FemTech
- Lack of funding for service and product development — especially in low-income regions
- The economic burden in rural and marginalized parts of the world around penetration, female products, and wearable devices
- Inadequate models for pricing and branding campaigns
- Fear of introducing the pink tax (where prices are increased when marketed towards women)
- Lack of education in rural and remote areas — where change is not really accepted
- Hard to bust myths and taboos in menstrual hygiene, fertility, and reproductive health
Globally there’s a stigma of menstruation from cultural taboos, discrimination, lack of education, silence, and period poverty. Especially further out of the country’s female hygiene market are just recently growing to different products rather than sanitary napkins.
Top-Notch FemTech Companies
Hundreds of rising medicals startups filling the FemTech marketplace going as new innovational ideas are being made to legit companies. Within the next 10 years, the realm within this area is expected to exponentially grow with the help of affordable accessible tech services. Down below are the few companies rising within the industry:
Inne
The world’s first at-home fertility monitoring system using just your saliva. They are on the watch to support menopausal womxn, as well as womxn with PCOS, endometriosis, and a wider range of cycles in the near future. They are designed to give ways to measure your hormonal levels in your own home!
Flo
The #1 mobile product for women’s health. Providing a period and ovulation calendar with daily health insights. Included with a health assistant that can engage on different health topics to understand your body signals better. With the community and support from millions of womxn world wide.
Eve Kit
Providing practices to be proactive about health, Eve Kit provides a safe and reliable tool that could be used in the privacy of your own home to screen for major infections like Chlamydia, Gonnorhea, or HPV. Helping many who wonder about their sexual health status not go through the feeling of embarassement or shame.
Juno.bio
A biotechnology startup founded in London in 2018 uses machine learning and bioinformatics to analyze and predict the vaginal microbiomes that impact female fertility.
Ava
Helps womxn who are trying to get pregnant by wearing a “bracelet” that would measure nine physiological parameters to predict the next fertile window and ovulation. It is also able to track differentiation in progesterone and estradiol levels. Which shows to detect fertile days with 89% accuracy.
What is the purpose?
Not only does this new industry want to destigmatize menstrual and sexual health, but to allow women to speak up about concerns that are seen as taboos to many. As well as:
- Aim to allow women to have more control over their personal health and lives
- Advance scientific knowledge — not for the purpose of learning, but for the purpose of understanding their own bodies
- Help health problems get diagnosed and/or treated sooner
- Have men understand women’s health issues
- Destigmatized menstrual and sexual health
Many barriers are faced and found but as it grows and improves in the next 3–5 years where new companies are leveling the playing field within the industry, womxn would be able to speak more freely and comfortably about health issues. With the help of embracing technology to improve own health and spread the value of FemTech.
