The FemTech revolution: Unlocking the potential of new technology for optimizing pregnancy outcomes in low‐ and middle‐income countries and remote areas

Abstract

Maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity rates uncover major global health disparities. Despite ongoing efforts, the rates of maternal and neonatal complications remain substantially higher in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) compared to high‐income countries (HICs). These high rates are the result of several unmet needs in LMICs, including limited access to quality antenatal care, health worker shortages, unreliable infrastructure, sociocultural barriers, low health literacy, environmental and nutritional challenges, and affordability. In addition, while the greatest burden of these complications lies in LMICs, it is crucial to recognize that similar disparities exist in rural and remote areas of large, higher‐income countries. FemTech (female technology), which refers to a wide range of digital tools and technologies designed specifically to support women's health, has the potential to address these unmet needs in LMICs. In many LMIC settings, mobile connectivity may represent the most scalable digital infrastructure available to women, often reaching communities long before formal health system expansion. However, the uptake of these in LMICs remains limited by infrastructure, regulatory, affordability, and sociocultural constraints. Introducing these digital solutions to LMICs without careful adaptations to these unique factors is more likely to widen rather than narrow inequities. Many international guidelines advocating the implementation of advanced technologies have not taken into account these unique LMIC‐specific challenges. This gap underscores the need to develop strategies for the implementation of FemTech in LMIC settings. FIGO and its partners are well placed to coordinate the development of dedicated global guidance tailored to resource‐limited settings. This document is a first step toward this goal.