Guardian - 21 January 2018, 10:30 (+ 2475 days 15 hours and 40 minutes) Sci-Tech
A new wave of tech startups is promising women detailed insights into their ability to conceive. But experts are scepticalMy sisters, aged 27 and 30, are seated at their computers poring over the slick websites of companies promising to reveal secrets to them about their fertility. “Get insight into how your fertility is tracking relative to your age,” promises one. “Get the tools you need to have more control over your fertility,” says a second. “Gauge how long you have left to conceive,” says a third. The tests, which look at the levels of one or more female hormones in the blood, style themselves as easy to order and are less than what one would pay in a fertility clinic. “The information seems relatively cheap and readily available, so why not find out?” says my older sister. “I just assumed I wouldn’t have any fertility issues,” says the younger. “I realise after looking at these websites I probably shouldn’t assume this.”These companies are the latest outgrowth of the growing global market in fertility services. Fuelled by women delaying childbirth longer, it includes IVF and egg freezing and is expected to generate $21bn (£15.5bn) in revenue globally by 2020. Female hormone testing was once the domain of fertility clinics attended by women struggling to conceive, but a clutch of US-based startups has recently begun, controversially, offering it directly – but as “wellness monitoring”, rather than to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Young women like my sisters, who aren’t even trying to get pregnant, are firmly in their sights. Continue reading...