What are my chances of getting pregnant? A startup has a new test

Want to know your chances of becoming pregnant this year?

There is now an online test for this – and you can take it for free. The tool uses your age and 14 questions about your health to give you a snapshot of your chances of having a baby alone or with the help of a doctor.

Created by a women-led genetics and breeding start-up called Celmatix, the new tool is based on peer-reviewed scientific research on fertility. It also uses the same predictive models that inform the company's data analytics platform, called Polaris, which has been used by thousands of physicians and more than 90,000 patients to track the journeys of reproduction of people.

You need a doctor to use Polaris, but all you need to take the new test, called My Fertility Compass, is a computer.

"It's an educational tool, a companion," said Piraye Yurttas Beim, founder and CEO of Celmatix, at Business Insider.

How to take the test

To use My Fertility Compass, go to the new Celmatix website, enter your age, your height, your weight and information about how long (and how often) you tried to design. You will also be asked a number of questions about lifestyle factors that affect your fertility, such as how often you drink or smoke.

Then you will have two percentages. The first shows your chances of getting pregnant at the end of a year of testing; the second shows your chances at the end of two years of testing.

Based on these numbers, the tool will tell you to continue doing what you are doing (which means you're on the right track with your current behavior) or will suggest you see a doctor for additional help.

Dozens of factors can affect your fertility, from family history of genetic diseases like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) to lifestyle factors like smoking.

Women under 35 who have been trying to become pregnant for a year or more and women over 35 who have been trying for at least 6 months will need to see a doctor.

That does not necessarily mean that there is something wrong, it just means that it's time to call in an expert who can make sure everything works like it should be and provide advice if it is not the case.

Making the black box of fertility clearer

For Beim, the new Celmatix tool is part of a larger goal. She wants to bring the progress we've seen in areas like cancer – such as precision medicine and other tools to better diagnose and treat disease – to fertility.

"Fertility is still a black box," Beim said. "The scientific manual applied to cancer is not applied here."

We know, for example, that mutations on two genes play a role in the risk of developing breast cancer, but we are learning how genetics and other factors influence chances of getting pregnant

As part of its efforts to bring cutting-edge science to fertility, Celmatix also offers the only fertility genetics test kit.

Although this kit is useful for women who are already thinking about family planning, it does not help those who have not yet thought about what they might do. they had difficulty conceiving. Beim pointed out that at a time when many women are beginning to think of ways to increase their chances of getting pregnant, they are already exceeding the ideal fertility threshold.

As Beim knows herself after battling to get pregnant herself, a lot of family planning takes action early, when there is enough time to get extra support. This support could include diagnostic tests or interventions such as IVF. That's why the new tool is free and easily accessible.

"This is an area where early interventions really matter," Beim said.

The new test is designed to encourage more women to think about fertility sooner and to have more options accordingly.

"Having this as a companion – that's the future," Beim said.