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- An odds-defying fertility startup called Celmatix just launched a new test that reveals your chances of getting pregnant in the next year.
- The test is free and consists of 14 questions.
- Called My Fertility Compass, the new tool uses peer-reviewed scientific research and relies on the same predictive models that inform the company's data analytics platform for physicians.
Want to know your chances of getting pregnant this year?
There's now an online test for that - and you can take it for free. The tool uses your age and 14 questions about your health to give you a snapshot of your chances of having a baby on your own or with a doctor's help.
Created by a woman-run genetics and reproduction startup called Celmatix, the new tool relies on peer-reviewed scientific research about fertility. It also uses the same predictive models that inform the company's data analytics platform, called Polaris, which has been used by thousands of physicians and more than 90,000 patients to track people's reproduction journeys.
You need a doctor to use Polaris, but all you need to take the new test, called My Fertility Compass, is a computer.
"It's an education tool; a companion," Piraye Yurttas Beim, the founder and CEO of Celmatix, told Business Insider.
How to take the test
To use My Fertility Compass, go to Celmatix's new site, enter your age, height, weight, and information about how long (and how frequently) you've been trying to conceive. You'll also be prompted to answer several questions about lifestyle factors that affect your fertility, such as how often you drink or smoke.
Then you'll get two percentages. The first shows your chances are of getting pregnant by the end of one year of trying; the second shows your chances by the end of two years of trying.
Courtesy of Celmatix
Based on those numbers, the tool will either tell you to keep doing what you're doing (meaning you're on the right track with your current behavior) or it'll suggest you see a doctor to get some extra help.
Dozens of factors can affect your fertility, from a family history of genetic conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to lifestyle factors like smoking.
Women under 35 who've been trying to get pregnant for a year or longer and women over 35 who've been trying for at least 6 months will be advised to consult a physician.
That doesn't necessarily mean there's something wrong, it just means that it's time to loop in an expert who can make sure everything is running as it should and provide guidance if it isn't.
Making the black box of fertility clearer
Courtesy Celmatix
Piraye Yurttas Beim, the founder and CEO of biotech fertility startup Celmatix.
"Fertility is still very much a black box," Beim said. "The scientific playbook that's being applied to cancer is not being applied here."
We know, for example, that mutations on two genes play a role in the risk of developing breast cancer, but we're just now learning how genetics and other factors influence the chances of getting pregnant.
As part of the effort to bring the latest cutting-edge
While that kit is useful for women who are already thinking about family planning, it doesn't help those who haven't yet considered what they might do if they were to have trouble conceiving. Beim pointed out that by the time many women start thinking about ways to raise their chances of getting pregnant, they're already beyond the ideal fertility window.
As Beim knows firsthand after struggling to to get pregnant herself, a big part of family planning is taking action early, when there's plenty of time to get additional support. That support could include diagnostic testing or interventions like IVF. That's why the new tool is free and easily accessible.
"This is an area where early interventions really matter," Beim said.
The new test is designed to get more women thinking about fertility earlier, and have more options as a result.
"Having this as a companion - that's the future," Beim said.