For years, women’s health was often siloed into OB/GYN care and absent from mainstream investment theses, but that landscape is changing. New platforms and care models are addressing women’s health in a more comprehensive manner. From fertility and reproductive health to maternal health, postpartum care, menopause, wellness and beyond, women’s health sectors draw increased investor interest driven by changing demographics, rising consumer expectations, developing reimbursement models and growing demand from employers and payers.
The numbers tell a compelling story. McKinsey estimates that by 2040, investments addressing the women’s health gap could add years to women’s lives while boosting the global economy by $1 trillion. These verticals offer mission-driven impact and attractive financial returns.
This alert is the first of a series exploring the verticals of women’s health, providing a high-level snapshot into key subsectors investors should consider.
Maternal Health
Maternal health remains a critical and evolving frontier within women’s health, marked by persistent challenges and emerging opportunities for innovation and investment. Despite advances in medical technology and increased awareness, the United States faces disparities in maternal outcomes and has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations. This stark reality underscores the market’s need for scalable solutions, and the fragmented maternal health sector presents a compelling opportunity for providers, payers and investors to drive patient-centric impact and financial returns.
Solutions that integrate medical, behavioral and social care while leveraging technology for scalability, such as Pomelo Care and Poppy Seed Health, are well-positioned for growth. Payers increasingly see the incentive to reduce preventable maternal morbidity and mortality, and employers seek comprehensive maternity benefits to attract and retain talent. As value-based care models expand, platforms that demonstrate improved outcomes and cost savings will be attractive. However, as maternal health solutions increasingly incorporate data analytics and AI, attention to data privacy, informed consent and algorithmic bias will be critical to building trust and ensuring equitable care.
Fertility and Reproductive Health
While the fertility and reproductive health sector has matured, it remains full of opportunity and white space for modernization and investment. The average age of first-time mothers in the United States is 30, up from 27 in 1990, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 13.4% of women experience infertility. Employers are expanding benefits coverage to infertility treatments, partnering with companies such as Progyny, with surveys showing that nearly 40% of large employers offer fertility benefits.
Employers’ expansion of fertility benefits fuels investor interest, with large investments in integrated fertility and women’s health platforms. With the proliferation of high-margin elective procedures and adjacent services such as egg freezing, genetic testing and donor coordination, fertility remains a prime target for innovation.
Postpartum Care
U.S. healthcare has long neglected the postpartum period, defined as the first 12 weeks after birth. Approximately one in eight women experience postpartum depression, yet most go unscreened and untreated. Medicaid covers nearly 40% of U.S. births — the equivalent of nearly 1.5 million births in 2023 alone. Postpartum coverage often lapses quickly, but this may no longer be the norm as the vast majority of states have extended postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months.
Investors notice these changes. For example, startups such as Mahmee, backed by Serena Williams and Mark Cuban, Partum Health and Almavie Postpartum Care are bridging the gap with tech-enabled platforms that offer nurse triage, lactation consulting, doula care, home care, behavioral health and more. These solutions appeal to payers and health systems aiming to reduce maternal morbidity and hospital readmissions. As Medicaid policy evolves, platforms with strong care coordination and virtual capabilities are well-positioned for growth.
Lactation Support
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least the first six months of an infant’s life; however, 50% of mothers stop earlier than planned, often due to a lack of individualized assistance. Clinical lactation services are not widely available, and insurance reimbursement is inconsistent, but, access is improving. CMS and many commercial payers recognize International Board of Certified Lactation Consultant services as reimbursable preventive care. Companies such as Nest Collaborative, who recently raised $6 million in funding to scale operations and deepen payer integration, use telehealth to provide on-demand lactation support and are gaining traction with employers and health plans. These platforms offer scalable access to clinicians and help reduce neonatal complications, making them attractive to investors.
Menopause and Midlife Health
Every day, approximately 6,000 women reach menopause in the United States. Menopause is linked to higher risks of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and mood disorders, yet fewer than 20% of OB/GYN physicians receive formal menopause training, leaving many women underserved and in need of medical services. As awareness about the health risks associated with menopause grows, so will the need for innovations and services.
Forecasters project that the global menopause market will reach $24 billion by 2030. Direct-to-consumer platforms such as Midi Health, Elektra Health and Rosy, a platform formed to support women through menopause and midlife with evidence-based education, mental health tools and sexual wellness resources, are stepping in, offering healthcare services tailored to midlife women. Certain of these models appeal to health plans by focusing on chronic condition management — key drivers of healthcare costs.
Virtual Women’s Health Platforms
Virtual-first care now is mainstream, and women are leading its adoption. Women are more likely than men to use digital health solutions, and platforms tailored to their needs are seeing high engagement. Companies such as Tia (and others mentioned above) combine OB/GYN, primary care and mental health, reshaping how women access care. Maven Clinic, the first female-focused health unicorn, partners with major employers to deliver fertility, maternity and menopause care. Their B2B2C model offers long-term contract value, high renewal rates and scalability with low fixed costs.
Wellness, Aesthetics and Preventive Care
The intersection of wellness, aesthetics and preventive care opens new investment opportunities, especially in cash-pay services such as weight management (including GLP-1s), hormone optimization, pelvic floor therapy and medical aesthetics. U.S. medical aesthetics alone surpassed $15 billion in 2023, with women accounting for over 90% of the demand.
More and more brands are blending medical care with wellness services, often marketed directly to consumers or through concierge models. Investors are drawn to these models for their high margins, strong brand loyalty and cross-sell potential. Medspa roll-ups and functional medicine groups also are building scalable, multisite platforms in affluent urban markets, offering margin-rich revenue and deep patient engagement.
The Investment Outlook
Women’s health is no longer a niche; it’s a core pillar of diversified healthcare investment strategies. What sets these subsectors apart is the combination of strong unit economics, fragmented markets, loyal consumer demand, and growing alignment with public policy and employer priorities. Payers increasingly see the financial incentive of reducing maternal morbidity, preventing chronic disease and integrating behavioral health, areas in which women’s health solutions excel.
Investors who understand lifecycle care, payer dynamics and patient acquisition are well-positioned to build category-defining platforms. Whether through new models, acquisitions or tech-enabled legacy practices, the opportunity to modernize women’s health is significant and overdue.
