Femtech Insider

Maternal mental health is getting nationwide backing. The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health has launched the National Maternal Mental Health Accelerator in collaboration with more than 100 national, state, and local organizations to increase care access. With more than 35% of US counties considered maternity care deserts, the Accelerator brings together groups spanning maternal health, mental health, policy, advocacy, philanthropy, and community to address gaps in care. Targeting meaningful improvements by 2030, the initiative will focus on patient advocacy, research, policy changes, and provider education. Its goals include addressing care deserts, establishing standardized postpartum care for 12 months, expanding paid leave, and increasing access to low-cost care nationwide. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/geSkrYWA

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is funding the future of care. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation has launched BCRF Ventures, a $100 million venture philanthropy program to advance new treatments and innovations beyond the lab. Announced at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, BCRF Ventures will support early-stage companies developing new approaches to breast cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment. BCRF Ventures launches with $23 million in donations and plans to deploy the full $100 million over the next 5-to-7 years across up to 30 companies. As an ongoing program, financial returns will be reinvested in future companies. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/gEtswRWg

FLORA (Flora Fertility) and Clue are teaming up. Through the partnership, FLORA Fertility, an individually owned fertility insurance platform, will offer policyholders access to Clue’s premium membership – including cycle insights, predictions, and pattern analysis – to help them understand their reproductive health before starting treatment. Clue users will be introduced to Flora’s policies, which start at $15/month, to cover diagnostics, medications, IUI, and IVF for women ages 20 to 34. For many women, reproductive health education begins when they are already facing infertility. According to FLORA, 69% of Gen Z women are concerned about their future fertility, while 59% feel uninformed about their reproductive health. Theaims to provide information about reproductive health and fertility treatment options earlier, before women are ready to conceive. For many women, reproductive health education begins when they are already facing infertility. According to FLORA, 69% of Gen Z women are concerned about their future fertility, while 59% feel uninformed about their reproductive health. The partnership aims to provide information about reproductive health and fertility treatment options earlier, before women are ready to conceive. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/gCx9ZNpH

Tiny Health is standardizing microbiome testing. The company has raised $33 million in an oversubscribed Series B led by B Capital, bringing its total funding to $46 million. The round included existing investors TheVentureCity, Overwater Ventures, and Spero Ventures, as well as new backers Black Opal Ventures, Denver Ventures, Pave Health Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Gaingels, and Pari Passu Ventures. Tiny Health’s microbiome intelligence platform uses advanced genetic sequencing to analyze gut and vaginal microbiomes and translate the data into personalized health insights. The company’s platform now serves nearly 200,000 patients and 6,000 healthcare providers. The new funding will support clinical research, interventional studies, and healthcare practitioner education, as well as its B2B platform Powered by Tiny and its proprietary LLM TinyAI. Tiny Health also announced its Microbiome Research Program, a $5 million commitment allowing researchers, clinicians, and scientific partners to leverage its microbiome testing, data, and research capabilities. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/gRwmsq-6

Pvolve is prioritizing strength training for healthy aging. The brand has released its first Movement Longevity Report, highlighting gaps in strength training education among women, and launched a new healthy aging program in partnership with ambassador Jennifer Aniston.    While lifting can help women in midlife maintain muscle and bone health, 66% of women surveyed said a doctor or trainer had never advised them to strength train. Only 16% have received guidance on how to get started, while 56% reported barriers – like not knowing where to begin, fear of injury, and feeling intimidated. The report also found that GLP-1 users require additional education – of respondents taking weight loss drugs, only 32% had learned about the risk of muscle loss from a provider before starting.    In response to the findings, PVOLVE introduced Movement Longevity, a new vertical designed to make weight training more accessible for women of all ages. Available on-demand, the new program, created in partnership with Aniston, offers a 30-day training schedule that prioritizes progressive overload. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/gREbd2iw

Everything happening in health & wellness right now. 💪 📰 Apple is reportedly exploring a screenless wearable. Ritual targets perimenopause with new supplement. Salomon signs five-year The IRONMAN Group deal. Nike launches Jordan strength equipment. Eight Sleep debuts Gen 6 AI-powered sleep system. Neko Health opens its first US clinic in NYC. [solidcore] announces heated strength format. Hale launches preventative heart health platform. Mira launches urine-based at-home cortisol test. Walmart partners on co-branded Medicare plans. GRAIL’s cancer blood test nears FDA approval. Peloton Interactive launched new Tread models, WHOOP integration. Pvolve, Jennifer Aniston launch strength x longevity program.

Perimenopause is still misunderstood. Education and community platform ThisIsMenopause has released a survey highlighting gaps in perimenopause awareness and access to care, as well as opportunities for more standardized education. Among 1,000 women surveyed, most respondents were unaware when they entered perimenopause – 82% initially attributed symptoms to other factors like stress, burnout, or anxiety. Only 14% recognized perimenopause right away, while 33% experienced symptoms for more than six months before understanding they were in perimenopause. Many women also reported barriers when seeking advice. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they had to initiate the conversation with their healthcare provider, while 72% experienced pushback from providers, friends, or family. Many were told they were too young, didn’t have severe enough symptoms, or were experiencing a natural part of aging. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/dvA6wv5D

WHOOP is linking sleep and menstrual cycles. A recent study from researchers at Stanford University’s Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, in collaboration with WHOOP, found between sleep patterns and menstrual cycle regularity.   Researchers analyzed 2,596 women, covering 42,759 menstrual cycles and approximately 1.2 million days of WHOOP data, to understand the connection between sleep, physiology, and menstrual cycles. The analysis focused on biometrics including resting heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen. The findings suggest that sleep duration and consistency are associated with cycle regularity. Women who averaged six hours per night were 1.3 times more likely to have cycles that deviated by three or more days than women who averaged eight hours. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/dDTWUiJU

A recent study published in the JAMA Network Open found that nearly one in three US women ages 21 to 29 had never been screened for cervical cancer as of 2023. Although cervical cancer is highly preventable through screening, the share of women who have never been screened has increased over the past two decades – due in part to care deserts, appointment availability, and insurance access. According to data from the National Health Interview Survey, 31.9% of women ages 21 to 29 had never been screened for cervical cancer as of 2023, up from 12.5% in 2005. Among women ages 30 to 65, the share rose from 5.3% to 14.8% over the same period. The most recent data showed many groups were disproportionately impacted – 44.3% of Asian women and 37.5% of Hispanic women in their 20s had never been screened. Meanwhile, Southern residents, uninsured women, and those without college degrees were also more likely to have never been screened. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/dBgK_X7E

Xella Health is layering in wearable data. The women’s precision health platform has launched an integration with ŌURA to connect daily wearable data with AI-powered diagnostics.    The company’s telehealth platform combines advanced multi-omic testing with personalized concierge care. Now, with physiologic data from Oura, Xella aims to connect underlying biology with day-to-day symptoms.    Through the integration, users can explore how factors like metabolic health, hormone health, and cardiometabolic riskmay be related to Oura metrics including sleep, heart rate variability, menstrual cycle, and body temperature. Xella clinicians can then use longitudinal data rather than a single moment in time to develop personalized care plans and adjust them over time. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/dzcKdMBg