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Fertility tech: How technology in changes women’s health
Femtech (female technology) is an area of the medical industry gaining prominence for its potential to reduce the gender health gap. As of 2023, this global technology was worth over £22 billion; a figure that’s set to increase at a rate of 16.3 per cent CAGR between 2024 and 2030.
One of the key drivers of femtech is the need for better reproductive health services. From more accurate diagnoses to assistive reproductive technology (ART), fertility technology is imperative for improving women’s healthcare.
But what exactly is fertility tech and how is it transforming the medical landscape? Let’s take a closer look.
Growing Rates of Infertility
Over the past fifty years, almost every country has seen an overall decline in fertility.
From South Korea’s low birth rate of 0.78 (expected to further decrease to 0.65 in 2025) to the 7 per cent drop in the number of births in France between 2022 and 2023, the statistics show that women worldwide have fewer children.
This isn’t always due to infertility, though. Greater access to contraception worldwide (including the rise of contraception clinics, like GynaeDoctors in the UK, and online directories, like FPA Women’s Health in the US) and better education are empowering women to make more informed decisions around having children.
However, it’s also acknowledged that rising infertility has a large part to play in falling birth rates.
Around 1 in 6 people around the world now experience infertility, which equates to almost 18 per cent of the total adult population.
The rates are similar across high, middle, and low income countries, too, with a clear lack of discrimination when it comes to who struggles with fertility.
As countries continue to struggle with ageing populations, this has given the fertility technology industry a boost, with an increasing need for advanced solutions for women’s reproductive health.
What Is Femtech and Fertility Tech?
The fertility tech that falls under the category of femtech is designed to improve the chances of reproduction for women.
This can include women in heterosexual relationships who struggle to become pregnant, as well as women in non-heterosexual relationships who need medical assistance in order to become pregnant.
Usually, fertility technology involves manipulating eggs, embryos, and sperm to increase the likelihood of successful fertilisation.
However, it can also focus on helping women conceive naturally through advanced women’s healthcare. Fertility tech can be used to diagnose and treat health issues that are affecting the likelihood of conception, for example, improving female health and creating a growing number of options for women with infertility.
Examples of Fertility Technology
To learn about how technology is changing women’s healthcare, we’ve taken a look at some prominent examples of fertility tech and ART.
Cycle Tracking Technology
Not all examples of fertility technology are kept in laboratories.
Menstrual cycle tracking tech – like Natural Cycles – is becoming a household staple for women trying to conceive.
It’s also useful for those who don’t want to become pregnant or would like to gain a better understanding of their cycle and fertility
The technology works by monitoring temperature throughout the month.
A consistent increase in temperature can indicate ovulation, with additional measures (like a luteinizing hormone test) creating better accuracy.
From wearables to bluetooth thermometers, the devices used to record temperatures are often connected to an app.
This makes it easy to track and view your menstrual cycle, helping women gain a better understanding of their fluctuating fertility.
Check out the 5 best period tracking apps of 2024 to learn more.
In Vitro Fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) has transformed women’s reproductive healthcare. B
y utilising technology like ultrasounds, co-incubation, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), women who struggle to conceive naturally can still have a healthy pregnancy.
If you’re interested in exploring the changing world of IVF, some exciting technological advancements to look into include:
- Embryoscope – iDAScore
- Excellent Science – MicroFSMA
- IVF 2.0 – SiD
- Ava Women – The Ava Bracelet
- Igenomix – WES
The majority of emerging technologies in the field of IVF are designed to increase the success rate of the procedure.
By doing so, women are less likely to have to repeat IVF multiple times, reducing the risk of painful side effects and creating an easier path to pregnancy.
Oocyte Cryopreservation
Oocyte cryopreservation is the technology behind egg freezing.
Not only does this give women greater control over when they’ll have children, but it also allows them to put their own health first.
For example, if a woman is hesitant to undergo chemotherapy because of the potential infertility risks, oocyte cryopreservation provides an alternative option.
Intrauterine Insemination
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a form of fertility technology that can help women with cervical issues and endometriosis who want to conceive.
The process works by identifying ovulation and removing slow-moving or abnormal sperm from the sample.
The remaining sperm is then injected straight into the uterus, bypassing the cervix completely to increase the chances of pregnancy.
It also empowers women with semen allergies – a problem affecting around 40,000 American women – by reducing the risk of an adverse reaction during fertilisation.
If you’re interested in intrauterine insemination, take a look at Femasys’ innovative tubal catheter that’s now available for commercial use.
Laparoscopic and Hysteroscopic Surgery
Technology has vastly improved the possibility for minimally invasive procedures in women’s healthcare. Laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery are example of this in action.
These procedures allow doctors to see into the ovaries and uterus without making any large incisions.
They’re used to diagnose infertility, correct problems that can cause infertility, and reduce the likelihood of miscarriage.
This vastly improves reproductive health by making it simpler to treat underlying conditions.
In some cases, women can undergo the procedures and leave the hospital on the same day, creating a less disruptive medical system that simplifies fertility care.
Laser-Assisted Hatching
Laser-assisted hatching is a technique used to thin the outer shell of the embryo by making a small hole.
The aim is to improve the chances of implantation, making conception more likely for older women or those with frequent implantation failure.
It’s important to note, though, that this is a new technology that’s still being studied, so its effectiveness in treating infertility is inconclusive.
Looking to the Future of Fertility Tech
Femtech is a rapidly growing industry that’s transforming the world of women’s healthcare.
In the future, it’s expected that there’ll be a continued focus on how technology can treat reproductive issues that have previously garnered little attention from the medical community (like endometriosis).
New technologies are likely to emerge, with an increase in convenient healthcare that puts women in charge of their fertility. This includes a rise in wearable technology, apps, and minimally invasive procedures.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also highly anticipated to become a future feature of women’s fertility treatment. It has a wide range of proposed capabilities, including:
- Selecting the healthiest embryos
- Analysing live sperm samples
- Predicting developmental potential
- Helping women track their menstrual cycles
- Offering personalised fertility advice via easy-to-access phone applications
- Identifying health risks in pregnant women
To show the potential of AI in improving fertility, one study looked at how it can identify healthy embryos.
The scientists trained an AI programme with about 50,000 images of embryos of varying quality.
Using this information, the AI software was then able to go on and identify the best quality embryos with an accuracy level of 97 per cent.
It’s worth noting that this is better than the majority of trained embryologists.
We also recommend checking out our article The Potential of AI in Improving Ovarian Stimulation Decisions, which explores another area of future fertility technology.
Final Thoughts
Femtech has transformed the way women’s fertility is monitored, diagnosed, and treated. We hope this article has introduced you to some of the ways in which it’s already implemented, as well as the potential for emerging technologies to evolve the industry in the future.
For more femtech news, be sure to keep up with the latest articles at FemTech World.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an AI tool in beta to help policymakers, experts and healthcare professionals access sexual and reproductive health information faster.
Called ChatHRP, the tool was created by WHO’s Human Reproduction Programme and draws only on verified research and guidance collected by HRP and WHO.
It uses natural language processing and retrieval-augmented generation to produce referenced content and cut the time spent searching through documents across different platforms and databases.
WHO said ChatHRP also has multilingual capabilities and low-bandwidth functionality to support use in a wide range of settings.
The beta-testing phase is aimed at a broad professional audience, including policymakers, healthcare workers, researchers and civil society groups.
WHO said the tool can help users quickly access up-to-date evidence, find sources for academic work and verify information on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Examples of questions it can answer include the latest violence against women data in Oceania for women aged 15 to 49, recommendations on managing diabetes during pregnancy, and whether PrEP and contraception can be used at the same time. PrEP is medicine used to reduce the risk of getting HIV.
WHO added that the system will be updated regularly as new HRP materials are published and includes a feedback loop so users can flag gaps in the information provided.
The launch comes amid wider concern about misinformation in sexual and reproductive health.
A 2025 scoping review found that misinformation in digital spaces is a systemic issue that can undermine human rights, reinforce discriminatory social norms and exclude marginalised voices.
The review also said misinformation can affect health systems by shaping provider knowledge and practice, disrupting service delivery and creating barriers to equitable care.
WHO said ChatHRP is intended to give users streamlined access to reliable information as a counter to “algorithms, opinions, or misinformation”.
Events
Women’s HealthX unveils Northwell Health, Corewell Health, Biogen & more to headline Chronic Disease stage
Women’s HealthX has announced its lineup of healthcare trailblazers speaking on Chronic Disease Management, alongside other specialisations including Fertility, Sexual Health, Maternity, Menopause and Cognitive Health, taking a holistic approach to women’s health.
It will bring together 750+ leaders across pharma, health systems, and innovation to address one of the most urgent and underexamined challenges in healthcare; the sex difference gap in data and evidence.
Since cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death among women globally, and autoimmune and neurological conditions affect women at significantly higher rates, Women’s HealthX will home in on chronic disease management with 17+ sessions spotlighting case studies and lessons learned.
The Chronic Disease Management Stage at Women’s HealthX responds directly to this gap, convening senior decision makers and innovators to explore how sex specific science, digital health, and new care models can reshape outcomes for women.
Attending pharma & healthcare organisations include:
- Tracy Sims, Executive Director, Cardiometabolic Health, Eli Lilly
- Adrian Kielhorn, Senior Director, Global Head HEOR Neurology, Alexion Pharmaceuticals
- Lauren Powell, Head of Health Equity and Clinical Innovation, Biogen
- Amy Kao, SVP, Head of Neuroscience and Immunology Research, EMD Serono
- Stella Vnook, Executive Chair and CEO, Kaida Biopharma
- Amanda Borsky, Director, Clinical Research, Northwell Health
- Lacey McIntosh, Division Chief, Oncologic and Molecular Imaging, UMass Memorial Medical Center
- Nicole Turck, Vice President Operations, Women’s Health, Corewell Health
- Mette Dyhrberg, CEO, Autoimmune Registry
- Lyn Agostinelli, Principal Consultant, Halloran Consulting Group
Sessions addressing the real gaps in women’s chronic care
The agenda features a series of high impact sessions tackling the structural and scientific gaps in women’s health:
- Improving outcomes in obesity through evidence based person centered care: Eli Lilly
- Tackling sex based health inequities by breaking down barriers and bias: Alexion Pharmaceuticals
- Close the health equity gap in women’s health by improving how autoimmune diseases are diagnosed, treated and managed: Autoimmune Registry
- How a GYN only care model is driving faster access to gynecological care: Corewell Health
- Transforming early detection in ovarian cancer: new pathways to accuracy, safety, and better outcomes: UMass Memorial Medical Center
Panel discussions include:
- Why chronic disease looks different in women and why health systems haven’t adapted: Biogen, Kaida Biopharma, EMD Serono
- How can we better engage with our customers: Northwell Health, Halloran Consulting Group
Health equity starts here. REGISTER YOUR PLACE
Why This Matters Now
Women’s HealthX positions chronic disease not just as a clinical challenge, but as a critical frontier for innovation, investment, and system redesign.
From AI powered monitoring and digital therapeutics to real world data and integrated care pathways, the stage highlights where meaningful progress is already being made and where the biggest opportunities lie.
For the FemTech ecosystem, this represents a pivotal moment: aligning technology, clinical insight, and commercial strategy to finally close the long standing data and care gaps in women’s health.
About Women’s HealthX
Women’s HealthX is where the transformation of women’s health begins at its true foundation: data, science, and evidence.
It’s the leading event dedicated to closing the sex difference data gap and accelerating breakthroughs through science driven, real world case studies.
Taking place on December 3 to 4, 2026 in Boston, USA, the exhibition will bring together more than 750 healthcare leaders, including clinicians, payers, employers, investors, and policymakers.
Seven different stages with 150+ expert speakers taking an holistic approach to women’s health. From fertility, maternity, sexual health, cognitive health, menopause and chronic disease, we address care at every stage of a woman’s life.
An AI atlas has mapped how reproductive organs age through menopause, with the ovaries, vagina and uterus changing on different timelines.
To better understand how this process affects health, researchers at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center developed what they describe as the first large-scale atlas of female reproductive system ageing, using artificial intelligence.
The team combined 1,112 tissue images from 659 samples, covering 304 women aged 20 to 70, with gene expression data from thousands of genes.
This allowed them to reconstruct how seven key reproductive organs, including the uterus, ovary, vagina, cervix, breast and fallopian tubes, age over time.
The study used the supercomputing power of MareNostrum 5 together with advanced image-recognition methods to process the data.
Using deep learning techniques, the researchers detected visible tissue changes as well as the underlying molecular processes linked to ageing in each organ.
The result was a detailed, organ-by-organ map of the reproductive system’s ageing process.
The researchers found that not all organs age in the same way or at the same speed. The ovaries and vagina showed a more gradual ageing process that begins even before menopause officially starts.
By contrast, the uterus appeared to undergo more sudden changes around the time of menopause.
Even within a single organ, different tissues aged at different rates. In the uterus, for example, the mucosa, its inner lining, and the muscular layer did not change in sync. These tissues also appeared to be particularly sensitive to the hormonal and biological shifts associated with menopause.
Marta Melé, leader of the transcriptomics and functional genomics group at BSC and director of the study, said: “Our results show that it acts as a turning point that profoundly reorganises other organs and tissues of the reproductive system, and allows us to identify the genes and molecular processes that could be behind these changes.”
Building on the finding that organs age according to different patterns, co-first author Laura Ventura said the research “paves the way for personalised medicine where treatments are tailored to a woman’s specific molecular profile and the specific tissues showing the most age-related distress.”
The study also identified molecular signals linked to reproductive ageing that can be detected in blood samples from more than 21,441 women.
These biomarkers could allow doctors to monitor the condition of reproductive organs in a non-invasive way, potentially helping to anticipate risks such as pelvic floor complications without the need for biopsies.
According to the researchers, this could lead to simpler and more accessible clinical tools for tracking women’s health over time.
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