Your employees have fertility benefits. Here's why they're not using them

Fertility benefits are often introduced as a standalone offering, but in reality, they are just one part of a broader family health journey. When support is fragmented across multiple vendors, employees can struggle to navigate care, leading to lower engagement, poorer outcomes, and higher costs. Integrated, end-to-end care models help connect each stage of the journey, improving both employee experience and business impact.

What you need to know:

45% of global companies offer fertility benefits, but many lack integration across the full journey
Employee satisfaction is declining, despite a 39% increase in benefits offered
Fragmentation leads to confusion, low awareness, and underutilization of benefits
Fertility, maternity, and parenting support are deeply interconnected stages of care
Integrated models improve clinical outcomes, engagement, and cost efficiency

Fertility benefits have become one of the fastest-growing areas of employer-sponsored healthcare, with more organizations now recognizing the importance of supporting employees who are building families. 45% of global companies now provide fertility support for men and women, and 58% of companies plan to add fertility support or enhance their existing offering.

But fertility treatment is rarely a standalone healthcare experience. For most employees, the fertility journey connects directly to pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and early parenting. When these stages of care are supported by separate programs or vendors, employees often face a fragmented experience or even avoid utilizing their benefits at all. This can result in poorer health outcomes for individuals, and poorer business outcomes too.

The limitations of point solutions

Many fertility benefits programs focus exclusively on treatment access. They may provide financial coverage for procedures or connect employees with fertility clinics. While these services are important, they do not address the full spectrum of care employees may need.

Employees often require preconception guidance, support during pregnancy, and resources as they transition into parenthood. For example, 31% of employees say their most important benefit is support for preparing to have a family, and 21% say parenting benefits would influence them to take a new job.

Our data shows that over the past year, organizations have added or grown support across:

Fertility
Adoption and surrogacy
Paid parental leave beyond statutory minimums
Parenting resources
Mental health

However, there's a clear employee benefits paradox. While employers reported a 39% average increase in women's and family health benefits offered, employee sentiment of those benefits supporting them "very well" decreased by an average of 10% across all benefits categories surveyed.

The difference between employer intent and employee experience is driven by fragmentation. One study found that 42% of those facing fertility challenges had no idea where to find support at work, and Maven's research found that 83% of men don't know where to turn for male-specific reproductive health support. Further, findings from the UK reveal that of those organizations that offer some form of fertility support, 56% had not told their employees about it.

In addition, research has found that 54% of employers offer access to benefits of different platforms, requiring separate logins. This translates to more than 40% of employees who find dealing with multiple vendors to access their benefits confusing.

This disconnect signals that for fertility benefits to be meaningful, communication, navigation and care coordination are just as important as breadth of coverage.

Why integrated care improves outcomes

Integrated care models address these challenges by coordinating support across the entire family-building journey. Care teams can guide members through fertility treatment, monitor pregnancy risks, and provide postpartum support. This continuity ensures that employees receive consistent clinical guidance at every stage.

For Maven members, this results in significantly improved health outcomes:

With coaching, Fertility members are 55% more likely to conceive without treatment and 30% achieve pregnancy without IUI or IVF
When Maven Fertility and Maternity programs are combined, C-section rates drop by 15%
Maven members see up to 27% lower NICU admissions
21% of members report improvements in their emotional well-being during pregnancy and postpartum

For employers, integrated care also reduces costs and improves efficiency and overall business outcomes. When providers coordinate across fertility and maternity care, unnecessary treatments can often be avoided, and risks can be managed earlier.

88% of Maven members report increased productivity at work
Through our holistic approach, the cost of care can be lowered by up to 30%, with employers seeing up to $5,000 in savings per member across all health plans and an average of $9,600 per birth
94% of parents return to work after maternity leave – well above the 57% national average
1 in 4 Maven Parenting & Pediatrics members avoid workday appointments
Employees supported by Maven are 74% more likely to stay with their employer

Supporting the full family journey

Employees benefit most when care models recognize that fertility is part of a broader health journey. Programs that integrate fertility, maternity, and parenting support can create a more seamless experience while improving clinical outcomes. For employers, this approach supports both employee well-being and long-term healthcare cost management.

Maven's coordinated care model delivers a connected fertility experience, one where diagnostics, care navigation, provider interactions, and clinical guidance are all under one roof, and each step in the journey is informed by those that came before it.

This coordinated approach is enabled through a combination of clinical expertise, technology, and continuous support across the journey.

Every member has a dedicated Care Advocate to ensure personalized, coordinated care that meets them where they're at and matches their needs, rather than delivering generic advice and overlooking underlying health conditions.

Support is provided for men, women, and couples from day one to optimize success and lower total costs. Comprehensive coverage is also provided for family members up to age 26, so employees can be assured that their whole family can access high-quality care.

Maven's unique combination of expert care management and access to top U.S. and global fertility clinics drives better outcomes, regardless of geographical location. Members can access high-touch care 24/7 from trusted providers across more than 30 specialties, including OB-GYNs, doulas, midwives, sleep coaches, and speech therapists. They also have a content library tailored to their journey available at their fingertips, including articles, quizzes, and classes.

Bringing these elements together allows employers to move beyond fragmented point solutions and deliver a truly connected care experience, one that supports employees at every stage of the family-building journey while driving more consistent clinical and financial outcomes.