This week, we hosted a thought-provoking panel discussion on women’s fertility choices, which threw up several interesting insights.
With us were Sakshi Chopra, Managing Director at Peak XV Partners; Ameera Shah, Executive Chairperson and promoter of Metropolis Healthcare; and Neha K Motwani, Founder of Luma fertility. In June, the tech-enabled, patient-centric fertility startup raised $4 million in seed funding, led by Peak XV’s Surge, with participation from Ameera Shah and Vijay Taparia (of B2V Ventures).
India has seen a rise in fertility startups, with at least 37 ventures founded between 2021 and 2025, according to a Mint article. It offers a significant opportunity, given the gap in the assisted reproductive market for customer-centric services, and at a time when there is rising income and decline in fertility rates, as highlighted in the article.
Listening to the members of the panel talk freely about their life choices was empowering.
Sakshi spoke about how a persistent inability to conceive can deeply impact a woman’s self-perception, even though they may be excelling in other areas of life. Empathy towards oneself and others is key during this stage, and she advised women to not be hard on themselves and take time off when they need to. Sakshi also drew attention to the fact that organisations now have IVF insurance packages, which could be a game changer.
Ameera, always a go-getter, shared that she froze her eggs, so that she could have freedom from worry and the ability to choose to have a child whenever she wishes to. She mentioned that she recently got pregnant again and has had twins via IVF, and chose to have the twins while taking on the role of EC at the company. She highlighted that her first childbirth was at a time when the company was going public. Pregnancy need not be looked at as a trade-off and it’s more about choosing what you want, she emphasised.
Neha spoke about her vision as a second-time founder –- again building from experience — and creating a warm, welcoming space for women to do their preliminary fertility tests, explore their options and gain awareness.
The speakers concurred that while freezing eggs comes at a cost, it is also not beyond reach, and it’s about viewing it as an investment in oneself.
It’s heartening that the panel discussion was a full house and there were many members from the Ladies Who Lead community who attended. They were curious about the topic, regardless of their stage in life. And to top it up, we got mentorship requests for the panel as well.