More than 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci performed the anatomical dissection of the uterus. of a pregnant woman who had died and intended to discover the secrets behind conception and pregnancy complications. Surprisingly, in 2023 there is still a lot to unravel, as women's health remains one of the least funded, least researched, and least serviced areas of investment and study.
It's an opportunity with a massive audience (potentially all families) that, due to historic underinvestment, has very little competition. The market is about to break through with genomics and Artificial Intelligence increasing to meet the extreme unmet need. Now is the time to invest and innovate.
Women's health continues to be one of the least funded, least researched, and least serviced areas of investment and study.
As women increasingly share their experiences, their stories bring to life how governments are failing mothers and amplify the urgency for us to act and innovate advances in women's and pregnancy health. Recent data from the CDC shows that maternal mortality rates in the United States have increased by 40%, meaning that Pregnancy is more dangerous now than for our mothers.
The maternal health crisis is even more devastating for Black women, who are 2,5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared to white women. AND 80% of pregnancy-related deaths can be prevented, highlighting how we, as a society, must do more to make pregnancy and childbirth a dignified and safe experience for everyone. Entrepreneurs, founders, technologists and other actors must lead the effort in this regard.
We have entered the golden age of medicine: from the rapid development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 that saved millions of lives, to the incredible progress in immunotherapy interventions targeting metastatic forms of cancer, to the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning to speed up medications. Developments across the spectrum of healthcare are an exciting time to be in medicine, given the pace of advancements seen every day. Compared to crowded fields like oncology and other areas of biotechnology, there are only a handful of players working to champion the great opportunities in maternal health and truly be a leader in this space.
It is clear that maternal health has lagged behind advances in medicine. This is worrying because the woman's health is the health of the family. Women who experience pregnancy complications face a increased risk of heart disease, attacks, mental health conditions y early death and children born prematurely have increased risk for numerous challenges throughout your life. This disproportionate impact on families means that women's health should be a concern for all of us, not just mothers. This can and must change. Maternal health is family health.
Women's health must be the new frontier in technology investment
Understanding and believing that women's health is family health is an important first step in starting a new wave of investment and attention to companies focused on improving women's health outcomes. This again highlights the enormous need y opportunity: the market is large, with almost 144 million babies born each year in the world (UN World Population Prospects report, 2022). With a healthy, complication-free pregnancy, children are better prepared to achieve good health outcomes throughout their lives, creating positive ripple effects for the health of their families and their future families for generations to come.
Another important step to boost investment and attention to women's health is to increase the number of women in senior positions within technology, venture capital, government institutions among other functions. Simply put, we need more women in high-impact roles. Among venture investors, women represent only 9% of all venture capitalists in the US. They occupy 25% of the seats in the Senate. y 28% of seats in the US House Only 37 women currently in Congress are mothers of children under 18 years of age.
In addition to adding more women investors, elected officials, founders and CEOs, we need men in these positions to champion maternal health. It is striking that we have gone backwards in the 21st century. Reversing trends in maternal mortality and disease is one of the greatest social challenges we face. There is a need to scale up support and ensure that both men and women help drive change to create healthier futures for families.
While there is much pessimism surrounding the current state of maternal health, it is important to recognize the promise and hope of progress on the horizon. From the prediction of pregnancy complications, targeted treatments in case complications arise and a concerted effort to increase access to birth specialists and other care providers to improve outcomes, we are about to advance women's health with greater investment, attention and opportunities.
In the world of technology and venture capital, we have the immense privilege of being able to provide the resources necessary to fund life-changing (and even life-enhancing) companies that are driving women's health forward. Now is the time to give them the care and investment they deserve to ensure we are creating a world where every pregnancy is as safe and healthy as possible.
