Carea, which is a pregnancy as well as postnatal wellbeing app, happens to be bridging the gap with the launch of the new Trying to Conceive - IVF/IUI Mode in order to support the many women who are undergoing intricate fertility treatment amid the rising concern related to inconsistent clinic continuity along with limited day-to-day guidance. 

The fact is that while IVF is regarded as a very highly tracked medical journey, most of the responsibility goes on to fall on women once they depart from the clinic. Right from administering injections as well as managing complex medication schedules to even navigating emotional strain, patients are mostly left to handle the process by themselves, often without any kind of consistent one-to-one support coming from any single doctor or nurse or even someone who is readily available just to answer those urgent questions or even clarify instructions for that matter.

All this has been shaped by the direct feedback coming from women who are undergoing the fertility treatment. Some of them shared that they were actually managing almost six medications per day, hence often needing that careful mixing while at the same time balancing the everyday work and life, therefore underscoring the important logistical issue and also that mental load that gets carried between the clinic appointments.

The fact is that the new mode offers much more structured day-to-day support all across the IVF, IUI, or egg-freezing journey. Women can go ahead and key in their customized treatment plan in a comprehensive medication tracker that helps them to stay much more organized and also on schedule. Step-by-step video support goes on to demonstrate how one has to administer every medication, whereas the built-in reminders need users to tick off the doses once they are taken, hence decreasing the missed injection risks. 

Interestingly, a visual progress bar also monitors their journey, enabling them to maintain motivation in a time that can be emotionally and physically taxing. Apart from the practical tools, users can also have access to the expert-led articles, IVF-specific affirmations, and podcasts, thereby equipping them with information as well as reassurance that is trusted through every stage of the fertility journey.

Why this makes a difference now

It is worth noting that access when it comes to fertility treatment in the UK has gone on to become increasingly limited and also unequal. IVF cycles, which are NHS funded, now comprise only 27% of all the treatments put together, and around 70% of the local authorities fund just one cycle for women who are under 40 and who have been trying to conceive for a couple of years. Because of this, the majority of women now go on to pursue fertility treatment privately, which is mostly at a massive personal cost, with a single IVF cycle typically leading to several thousand pounds' expenditure, and that too excluding the medication along with additional procedures.

Simultaneously, the demand for fertility support consistently continues to see that growth. More women happen to be choosing to have children at a later part in life, and almost one in seven couples in the UK go on to experience certain challenges while conceiving. Still, while the clinical treatment has indeed seen an advanced and structured element, emotional and practical support between the appointments remains pretty limited, thereby leaving many women to go through the medication protocols, which are very intricate, with a psychological toll burdening them too.

According to Carea’s founder and CEO, Anastasia Shubareva-Epshtein, “It’s the tool I wish I had when I was going through IVF myself. It can be an incredibly isolating and challenging journey. There are countless questions that come up every day, from practical concerns about medication and timing to the constant ‘what ifs’ that weigh on your mind.” She further adds that "appointments are often weeks apart, yet the treatment itself is happening daily at home. Having a trusted, reliable place to turn to for clear guidance and reassurance would have made a world of difference during such an intense and uncertain time.”

A leading fertility specialist as well as the founder of Fertility Plus and also a medical advisor at Carea, Dr. Anil Gudi has gone ahead and supported the development pertaining to the new Trying to Conceive mode of the app after witnessing the firsthand struggles that women face with fertility treatments. He said that "many of the patients I see say that, prior to coming to my clinic, they had not experienced continuity of care with the same doctor during their treatment. Sadly, IVF care in the UK is becoming increasingly impersonal.”

The Trying to Conceive - IVF/IUI mode happens to join the growing suite of features of Carea, which includes its pregnancy as well as postpartum mode and also supports mothers across fertility, pregnancy, and even beyond. Carea also looks forward to launching a “Healing After Loss Mode” so as to support women who have experienced failed IVF cycles or even miscarriages, which is going to be added to the app in the times to come.

Apparently, the new IVF/IUI feature, which is designed to support the women all across their fertility journeys, is now very much available and that too free of cost within the Carea app. One can download the app through the App Store and Google Play, and the present users can have access to the feature via updating to the most recent version.