Why hormone testing shouldn’t be a one-off

Progesterone is a key hormone in assessing ovulation. FemTech World speaks to Amy Beckley, founder of Proov, to find out how at-home testing could change the way infertility is diagnosed and treated.

Progesterone is a female sex hormone produced mainly in the ovaries following ovulation each month – a crucial part of the menstrual cycle and maintenance of pregnancy.

But when progesterone levels are low, women may have difficulty conceiving and experience uterine bleeding, irregular periods and spotting.

In the US, over six million women – 10 per cent of the female population – aged 15-44 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant.

“This happens because the US healthcare system is very reactive,” says Amy Beckley, scientist and founder of the home testing company Proov.

After seven miscarriages Beckley and her husband had to actively try conceiving for 12 months before they could see a fertility expert. She was diagnosed with unexplained infertility and the doctors recommended IVF.

“I have a PhD in pharmacology, so I’ve been studying hormone signalling for a long time,” she explains.

“I realised the only thing that was different between my IVF cycles and my natural pregnancies was the fact that after embryo transfer I was put on progesterone supplements to support my luteal phase. This actually matched my previous idea, that I must have a progesterone deficiency causing my short luteal phases.

“But since progesterone in blood fluctuates a lot, one single blood test can’t detect suboptimal levels throughout the implantation window. The research [on progesterone] was there, but nobody had actually come up with a diagnostic test.”

This is when Beckley decided to create Proov Confirm, a urine marker of progesterone and the first and only FDA-cleared PdG test kit to confirm successful ovulation at home.

Her company now offers a suite of diagnostics to provide fertility insights throughout the entire menstrual cycle by allowing women to measure all of the menstrual hormones daily.

Women can then snap a photo of each test within the Insight app and follow the in-app prompts to understand ovulation status, get daily insights and an ovulation insights score, along with a personalised action plan to maximise their wellness.

The idea behind Proov was to empower women with critical information about their ovulation and menstrual cycle, the founder says. “Most women don’t check their hormonal health because there’s no help available,” she adds.

“Women are very savvy and very data-driven. When they have a problem, they try to reach out and get help, but very often there’s nobody on the other end to help them.”

“But it’s very important to look at what your hormones are doing over time. Blood testing misses a lot of issues, so by simply giving women that insight and the actual hormone value we want to help them learn about their cycle and understand it.

“We do everything through our free app and women love this digital approach,” Beckley continues. “They love the idea of seeing numbers and having all the data they need. They love having it stored and having a notification to remind them to take a test the next day.

“It makes things a little bit easier and provides data in a format that’s easily digestible.”

While Proov is already working with a number of American clinics, Beckley hopes to expand their partnerships beyond the US and get approvals in other countries.

“Apart from expanding geographically, we also want to expand into hormonal health in general,” she adds.

“We’re really good at understanding the menstrual cycle to help women get pregnant and we realised that the menstrual cycle is not only important for getting women pregnant, but it’s also important for everyday life.

“Our goal is to support women through heavy, painful periods, PMS and menopause and help them thrive during those hard times.”

Tests are available on proovtest.com and amazon.com.