Ladies, it’s time to take charge of your fertility and women’s health
Fig and Ferne empower women by making reproductive checks more accessible, affordable, and private for improved holistic health
Text: Shannon T
While there are some subjects that we as women are happy to embrace with fervour (crazy emotions, lazy partners, the best place for Pilates), speaking openly about our fertility and sexual health is still not so easy to do. Yet nearly 70% of Singaporeans are unaware of fertility issues and factors that affect their reproductive health. Today, marrying and having kids later, fertility diminishing with age and egg-freezing being illegal in Singapore except for medical reasons have made it increasingly important for women in Singapore to own their fertility.
Just as women have the opportunities to follow their own path in life, we also have new and trustworthy healthcare providers who are there to educate, support and make access to information about sexual health easier (and they’re not shy to embrace the word ‘vulva’). Take Fig. This healthcare company, founded by a doctor and a mother Maria Wang-Faulkner seeks to make fertility talks and treatment easier by making them available from your homes. Also new on the block is Ferne, a company that delivers fuss-free and affordable screenings for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) right to your doorstep.
Women’s fertility and sexual health issues
According to Fig, women tend to ignore symptoms like painful or irregular periods (happening to half of all women), which could be early warning signs of issues that cause 80% of female infertility. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive and endocrinological disorder found in 6-10% of the female population and has been found to be the cause of up to 30% of infertility in couples seeking treatment. Figs warn that although an estimated global average of 70% of all polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) cases go misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, the number could be higher in Asia due to the lack of more obvious PCOS symptoms (like excessive facial hair, acne or unexplained weight gain) in the Asian phenotype.
Topics on sexual health and STIs is mostly uncharted territory in many Asian families, as noted by the CEO and Founder of Ferne Health, Xi Liu. However, there is a shift in Singapore with more parents discussing sexual health with their children. Knowledge of sexual health and STIs, and access to screenings and treatment, is key to helping women take better care of themselves.
Fig: At home fertility screenings
Founded by Maria and Dr Pier Spinazze, Fig is a new healthcare company on a mission to help women better understand and take charge of their reproductive health in Singapore. Named after the common fig — a super fruit for women’s fertility — the company seeks to empower women by making fertility screenings more accessible, affordable and judgment-free.
This amazing venture has a tough story behind it. Four years ago, Maria suffered an abrupt miscarriage, seven weeks into her first pregnancy. Her appointment with her OBGYN wasn’t until the eighth week, which was the standard medical practice in New York. When the miscarriage happened, she had to scramble to see a random set of doctors to confirm it, and had no one to turn to for answers because she hadn’t yet met her OBGYN. She found herself lost, confused and helpless.
Now a mother of two, her experience has evolved into a personal calling to help other women access fertility care and advice more easily. Maria’s career in health and technology also gave her the skills needed to do so.. She had worked at Google alongside some of the world’s biggest media companies, assisting in introducing new drugs and diagnostics to emerging markets, as well as a history of working on issues like women’s rights and gender inequality.
Through Fig, women in Singapore are able to seek professional help and check for fertility problems from the comfort of their home. For individuals who are planning on conceiving, doing the Fig health screen test reveals ahead of time if you have enough eggs for your age, so you can weigh up whether to consider egg freezing.
Fig is currently Singapore’s first and only at-home fertility health screen, and also provides digital coaching and personalised supplements. Backed by an exclusive founding advisory team composed of Singapore's leading doctors, practitioners, OB/GYNs and experts in the women's health and reproductive field, they offer the same fertility hormone testing that you get at fertility clinics. They also run blood tests through the largest accredited lab in Singapore — just as a fertility clinic would.
Ferne Health: Delivering STI screenings your doorstep
Ferne Health is another women’s health company challenging the norms. CEO and Founder, Xi Liu, wanted to address the lack of sex education and culture stigma of sexual health in Asia, something that she noticed from after growing up in China and then moving to the United States at 22. Driven by curiosity, she started having more conversations about sexual health with her peers, which only deepened her concerned about how sexual health issues are overlooked in Asia. This passion drove her to take matters into her own hands to build a more accessible healthcare solution for it.
Xi Liu set up Ferne Health in January 2020, hoping to create the first sexual health companion for everyone in Asia. They seek to empower women to break the stigma about their bodies and keep their sexual health in check by delivering at-home consulting and screening services for STIs.
Common STD screenings start from just $46 and you can pick a combination of different common STDs based on your concerns. Opt to have a physician come to your home for an on-site blood collection or choose to drop in at one of their partner clinics for your test. They also provide tele-consultations and various at-home screening kits to help women keep their sexual health in check.
