How LEVY Health fills a gap in reproductive medicine
Everyone has the right to decide when to start building their family and how many children to have. Unfortunately, 1 in 7 couples and 186 million individuals worldwide experience difficulty conceiving.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “infertility” means not being able to get pregnant after 12 months of regular unprotected sex. But the vast majority of people (75%) struggling to conceive realize too late that they may need medical assistance to get pregnant.
When it comes to fertility, time is precious. Female fertility begins gradually declining around age 32, and the decline accelerates after 37, while the risk of miscarriages and pregnancy complications goes up. Because of this, women over 35 are recommended to see a fertility specialist after six months of having regular unprotected sex. By age 40, it’s recommended to seek help even sooner.
However, social stigma, fear of high costs, and lack of information preclude many people from accessing the care they need and deserve. LEVY Health is on a mission to fill a gap in reproductive medical care and help more people fulfill their dream of becoming parents – in a time-efficient and cost-effective manner.
In just a few weeks, the LEVY Fertility Code uncovers why you’re not getting pregnant, creates a personalized action plan, and empowers you with the knowledge you need to help you start your family.
Where the reproductive health gap comes from
So many women affected by infertility don’t know what’s behind it. This is partially because some of the major causes of female fertility struggles – such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome – can take years before they are diagnosed and treated.
Despite how common these conditions are (1 in 10 women has endometriosis and up to 1 in 5 has PCOS), research shows that they are underrecognized in the medical community. Because women’s health has been underrepresented in clinical research, there’s a general lack of understanding of how to spot these conditions. Plus, diagnostic guidelines can vary country to country and there’s no single, simple test to make a diagnosis.
Other major issues in today’s healthcare system are limited time and lack of access to specialized experts. Appointments are getting shorter and shorter. Half of General Practitioners in England’s National Health Service (NHS) said in a survey that they are expected to spend under ten minutes with each patient, and 1 in 3 admit that they have failed to properly diagnose patients and miss symptoms due to time pressure. With these huge time constraints on healthcare providers, women in need don’t get the attention and care they deserve – which makes it harder to decide on the treatment path that’s right for them.
Few gynecologists have specialized training in endocrinology (the study of hormones) and there’s a greater barrier to accessing fertility doctors.
What OBGYNs and fertility doctors do
Obstetrician-Gynecologists (OBGYNs) are physicians specialized in treating diseases of female reproductive organs and providing overall women’s healthcare, including throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. At medical checkups, OBGYNs conduct pelvic and breast exams, cancer screenings, discuss contraception options, and diagnose and treat various health conditions.
A fertility doctor on the other hand is an obstetrician-gynecologist who has gone through additional training to administer hormone therapy and use assisted reproductive technology to help women and couples conceive.
Where LEVY Health fits into reproductive healthcare
LEVY Health doesn’t replace a gynecologist nor a fertility doctor. Rather, we help connect the dots between both specialties. Our goal is to improve fertility naturally through education, advanced diagnostics, holistic treatment options, and coaching. After testing, users have a 1:1 consultation with a qualified fertility doctor from the comfort of their own home.
With the combination of our CE-certified digital medical tool, lab testing and expertise from trained reproductive physicians (who also work in fertility clinics), we identify possible causes of your fertility struggles and create a personalized, science-backed action plan to help you get pregnant in a quick and cost-effective manner..
Beyond that, we dedicate the time to explain in detail why we suggest testing certain blood parameters, what your results mean, how they lead us to make a diagnosis, and why this specific therapy is the best way to treat the cause of infertility in your specific case. This helps relieve some of the pressure on OBGYNs and fertility doctors who may need to keep patient visits short.
One of the major benefits of using LEVY is that you save precious time on your reproductive journey. Time is one of the most important determiners of female fertility as well as the success of assisted conception treatments. We identify women who need to get treatment in a fertility clinic straight away to help them conceive. When they get there, they are prepared with all the diagnostics they need and can immediately begin treatment.
Struggling with fertility can put you on an emotional roller coaster – we aim to help you understand why you’re not getting pregnant and put you back in the driver’s seat on your fertility journey. By equipping you with in-depth information and knowledge, you’re more empowered to make the decisions that feel right for you so you can take back control over your reproductive health.
The LEVY Fertility Code involves four steps
Step 1: Reproductive Health Assessment
Answer in-depth questions about your medical history to receive a personal risk profile for conditions that can impact fertility, grounded in decades of scientific studies on reproductive health and medical guidelines from the U.S. and Europe.
Step 2: Learn which blood tests are recommended for you
Our software creates a personal risk profile according to your answers and diagnostic guidelines in Europe and the U.S. You’ll have the option to book a free video call with a LEVY fertility expert to go over which tests are needed to complete your diagnosis.
Step 3: Get your blood drawn
Visit one of our partner labs in Germany to have your blood drawn. Your results will be automatically uploaded to your LEVY Health profile to finish up your medical history and fertility diagnosis.
Step 4: 1:1 Fertility doctor consultation
Speak with a qualified fertility physician to understand your results and learn about your individual reproductive health profile. You’ll get a personal action plan with the next steps to help you conceive and in-depth knowledge about your fertility.
After testing your fertility with LEVY Health
LEVY gives you quick and easy access to fertility experts and saves you valuable time and money on your journey to parenthood. Once you’ve finished the LEVY Fertility Code, you get a treatment recommendation to help you reach your reproductive goals. Beyond that, you’ll get personalized knowledge about your cycle, diagnosis, and suggested supplements (if applicable). At LEVY Health, we prioritize holistic methods to boost reproductive health to help you conceive naturally. In the majority of cases, knowledge and key lifestyle changes are all that’s needed to improve fertility.
In some cases visiting an OBGYN or a fertility clinic for further testing and treatment is necessary. With LEVY Health you’ll learn if this is the right next step for you. This recommendation is based on data and medical facts – we have no incentive to recommend costly treatments and don’t earn anything when our users proceed with IVF, for example. But if this is the best solution for you, it’s crucial to visit a fertility clinic as soon as possible so you can maximize your chances of success.
If we determine that you need to visit a clinic, we’ll give you information about what to expect and how to pick a clinic that’s right for you. Plus, you’ll get to skip expensive and time-consuming diagnostic tests because you tested your fertility with LEVY first. Hopefully, you will be able to conceive and can then see an obstetrician-gynecologist to accompany you throughout your pregnancy.
Sources:
Infertility. World Health Organization. Accessed 24 February 2022.
Female Age-Related Fertility Decline. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Accessed 09 March 2022.
Gibson-Helm M et al.: Delayed Diagnosis and a Lack of Information Associated With Dissatisfaction in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2017;102(2):604:612.
Doctors admit short appointment times are putting patients at risk. Open Access Government. Accessed 07 April 2022.
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