We’ve all heard of the period tracking app Clue. It’s one of the many apps available for women’s health. If you’re a mom, you’re probably also familiar with the myriad of breast pumps on the market like the Elvie, the first wearable breast pump. Both are great examples of femtech.
Femtech isn’t some futuristic pipe dream. It exists and is available for women right now! As technology grows, innovators have finally put women’s healthcare at the forefront.
My goal as a holistic health coach is to help you optimize your health so you can live a life full of joy. Femtech is one tool I love that can help you do just that. Imagine a technological device in the palm of your hand that could help you manage maternal and child care, fertility, and family planning. That’s exactly what femtech does.
In today’s article, I’m going to share all about femtech and how it helps women understand their bodies. I’ll share five femtech devices and solutions that I love that you can use today to better optimize your health.
Ready to keep reading? Don’t forget to share this article with one female friend who you KNOW would benefit from femtech!
What is Femtech?
Femtech is the nickname for the many new technology solutions geared towards women’s health. It’s the use of software, diagnostics, wearables, devices, and apps to address challenges unique to women’s health. Isn’t it great that women’s health is being prioritized this way?
When you think about it, a woman’s health affects more than just herself. It impacts her children and the entire family’s wellbeing. Unfortunately, the technology industry, led largely by men, has lagged behind on women’s health issues. For example, Garmin, the world’s biggest smartwatch maker, only recently released a pregnancy tracker app.
As the technology industry seeks to balance gender disparities, female-centric health applications and devices are increasingly popular. In fact, the femtech market is expected to be worth more than 60 billion by 2027.
Meanwhile, femtech solutions targeting early diagnosis and healthcare services are expected to reduce healthcare costs. At the same time, they elevate healthcare standards and women’s quality of life.
Can you see why I love femtech yet?
Femtech is concerned with the whole lived experience of a woman. Categories under which femtech products fall include:
- Menstruation & Period Care Products
- Fertility & Birth Control
- Menopause
- Chronic Conditions & Hormonal Disorders
- Pelvic Health
- Mental health
- Disease management
- Pregnancy
- Postpartum
- Breastfeeding
- Sexual Wellness
- General Healthcare
Women and the Healthcare System
Let’s be real, women make up at least half of the population of the world. They also have significant physiological differences from men that need specific healthcare solutions. Our bodies are not like men’s and the healthcare model that works for men will not always work for women.
Women have longer life expectancy rates than men. Statistics show that all people are living longer, too. The burden on the healthcare system will only increase. Chronic and infectious diseases, specifically among older women, accelerate the demand for better health devices, products, and technology.
How Does Femtech Support Women’s Health?
Thankfully, the tech industry is addressing health issues that primarily affect women.
For example, infectious diseases are increasing in prevalence among females in middle and low-income countries. Yet, thanks to femtech, women all over the world can access health services and products. Several companies offer free telemedicine apps and devices for disadvantaged women in these countries.
Male physiology may have been the standard for developing healthcare solutions, but femtech is changing that assumption.
Here are a few women’s health issues that femtech influences:
- Cancer – Many cancers are specific to the female reproductive system. Some tend to be more prevalent in women. Breast cancer, uterine cancer, and cervical cancer are a few.
- Reproductive health – Health conditions like infertility, endometriosis, PCOS, and uterine fibroids, all affect the reproductive system.
- Pelvic health – The female pelvic floor muscles help support the pelvic organs. Pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause can adversely affect the pelvic floor muscles.
- Pregnancy-related conditions – Gestational diabetes, anemia, urinary tract infections, and nausea are all common pregnancy-related conditions. That’s not including pre-labor complications or postpartum conditions.
- Menopausal health – menopausal and post-menopause women are a huge demographic. They struggle with many symptoms induced by hormonal changes.
Thanks to femtech, women all over the world can access health services and products.
Femtech Devices and Solutions You Can Use
At this point, you’re probably on board with femtech. It’s one of the better things technology has brought us in this day and age. There are so many femtech devices and solutions you can use, but here are a few of my favorites.
Elvie
Elvie revolutionized breast pumps for women. They created the first wearable, hands-free breast pump. As a mom of six, I can tell you this would have been a game-changer! Elvie also created a pelvic floor trainer to help you exercise your pelvic floor. If you struggle with Kegels and pelvic floor health, the Elvie trainer is a great solution.
Elvie Pump is an electric breast pump that keeps you hands-free, enabling you to do other things simultaneously. It can also be controlled via the app.
Lady-Comp
You want an alternative to hormonal birth control, trust me. Lady-Comp is that alternative. It gives you a greater awareness of your menstrual cycles and hormones. An intelligent fertility tracker, Lady-comp helps you track your cycle naturally and plan your family. It uses your basal body temperature and an intelligent algorithm to help you identify exactly which cycle phase you are in.
Inne
Inne is another great option for tracking your menstrual and reproductive health. It’s the first device to use a simple saliva test to track your progesterone levels. That along with cervical fluid monitoring allows you to have greater control over your reproductive health and a better understanding of your hormones.
Bloom Life
BloomLife creates better solutions for pregnant moms and babies through the development of devices and technologies that allow for visualizing and tracking contractions at home. They have an at-home contraction monitor that is a wearable device connected to a smartphone app. It includes a sensor that is stuck to a pregnant woman’s belly and requires no straps or belts! It provides expecting parents with a comfortable way to count contractions.
Bodily
Bodily is an online destination for everything from the hours, days, and weeks after giving birth to breastfeeding tips. They provide all the products a woman may need for the postpartum period, from helpful guides to postpartum emotions and body changes to a kit to help you manage postpartum recovery!
RELATED: HOW TO USE A BIRTH BALL TO PREPARE FOR LABOR
Work With a Holistic Health Coach
Does all of this overwhelm you? Not sure where to start with femtech or how to incorporate it into your lifestyle? As a Certified Holistic Health Coach, I help women find and achieve their unique vision of wellbeing.
If you want to get started, reach out to me via my contact page!
Mandy Patterson
