Millions of women struggle with physical and emotional health challenges related to fertility each year. However, health care for these women remains reactive, fragmented, and expensive. Adia Health, a platform for women’s reproductive health, is focused on changing that and we are delighted to invest in their pre-seed round alongside London Co-Investment Fund and other experienced Angel investors.

The women’s health start-up empowers women to understand their fertility and improve their preconception health through easier access to fertility tests, science-based planning and access to health specialists all online.

CEO and co-founder, Lina Chan, realised the need when she experienced pregnancy complications and loss on her own journey to motherhood. She then saw how so many other women go through the same struggles to affordably access scientific and expert support.

Lina Chan, CEO commented: “Usually a woman will only be able to access fertility tests after one year of trying, or see a specialist after she’s gone through three miscarriages.  Why do we have to wait so long?  One of the leading causes of subfertility and pregnancy complications is age.  Millions of women today are making the same decision I made – to delay having children, generally for a mix of personal and economic reasons.  This reactive system is no longer fit for purpose, and does a disservice to women by failing to provide proactive support to improve outcomes, and, if needed, early-intervention for any health issues. It also ignores the anxiety and emotional strain women experience during this time.

We need to make sure that approaches to women’s health adapt to the needs of the women today.  We need to make it more proactive and personalized while incorporating the importance of emotional health support during this time.”

Nutritional, physical and mental health can all influence outcomes. And good preconception health improves fertility, sets the foundation for a successful pregnancy and the lifelong health of the baby. Yet current care pathways are fragmented and only provide support to women once they encounter a problem. That is why, alongside proactive health tracking, Adia provides women with the tools to improve their “whole body health.” The company wants to empower women to understand their fertility, improve their physical health and thrive emotionally.

A woman who signs up for Adia will embark on the “Adia Journey”.  The first step on her journey is a whole body health check.  This helps women better understand their fertility, nutritional and emotional health through easy at home finger-prick blood tests and questionnaires.   The next step is a personalised plan to arm women with the facts about their fertility, improve their nutritional health and provide tools to boost emotional health. The Adia plan is curated by leading specialists in the field.   Adia is on a mission to make science accessible, and combat the confusion often felt by women when navigating fertility. While on the platform, every woman can submit questions that are answered by leading specialists, and get support from a dedicated coach to provide ongoing emotional support and coaching.

Tom Wilson, Partner at Seedcamp, explained why they are excited about Adia: “We see many start-ups a year, and Adia is the first company we have seen that provides a whole body health solution to women planning or trying to conceive.  Their solution is very innovative and addresses an important need.  Women’s need are shifting and it’s important that we develop solutions that are more proactive and science-based. We see a huge demand from consumers for tools to manage their health. We’re excited to support the next phase of growth for Adia.”

Adia has established an enviable founding team of experts to develop their approach and provide support.  These include obstetrician and fertility specialists from Imperial College London, holistic therapists from the Whittington Hospital, nutritionists from King’s College and clinical psychologists from NHS England.  Adia has also partnered with Thriva and it’s certified partner labs that perform blood tests for the NHS.

Adia is currently in private beta but expects to launch the full product in October.

Adia was founded in early 2018 through Zinc VC, a social innovation programme, founded by Saul Klein, Paul Kirby, and Ella Goldner to tackle the world’s biggest social problems.