Breastfeeding Technology Expanding
The act of providing nutritional and emotional enrichment to a child through breastfeeding is the oldest form of human bonding. However, as long as women have worked outside the home, it has been everything from an inconvenience to a source of anxiety to a career changer. Although, thanks to new breastfeeding technology, that may be changing.
Within the last several years, new companies have launched innovations in how mothers’ milk is accumulated, how breastfeeding can be done in the workplace and monitoring a baby’s consumption of breast milk.
Market Size
“The market is very extensive,” says Jayme Coates, co-founder with Brittany Molkenthin of Lactation Innovations. “There is a huge need today.”
A report from Global Markets Insights (GMI) bears Coates out. That assessment puts the market for breastfeeding accessories at over $1 billion last year. In addition, GMI seeks that market growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8.5 percent over the next decade. That means that by 2032, the market for breastfeeding technology will more than double to over $2.5 billion.
The report cites “numerous government and nongovernment initiatives, new hospital procedures, and educational initiatives to increase the breastfeeding rate” as forces pushing market growth.
Benefits of Breastfeeding
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a new policy statement on breastfeeding last July. Infants should breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, according to the AAP. After that, supplements can be introduced. However, breastfeeding can continue for up to two years or more.
“Breast milk is unique in its nutrients and protective effects, and really quite remarkable when you look at what it does for a child’s developing immune system,” said Dr. Joan Younger Meek, MD, and lead author of AAP reports on breastfeeding. “Not everyone can breastfeed or continue breastfeeding for as long as desired for various reasons, including workplace barriers. Families deserve nonjudgmental support, information, and help to guide them in feeding their infant.”
To facilitate breastfeeding, the AAP’s policy statement called for universal paid maternity leave, insurance coverage for lactation support including breast pumps, and private breastfeeding facilities among other measures.
“The AAP views breastfeeding as a public health imperative and also as an equity issue,” said Dr. Lawrence Noble, MD, who co-authored the policy statement.
A Woman’s Touch
Many companies taking the lead in breastfeeding technology are led by women. Many of them were inspired by personal experiences.
“My first child was acting very hungry and fussy,” recalls Coates. “Nobody could tell me what was wrong and it was very stressful at a time when you are already feeling stressed. Finally, we determined he was not getting enough milk.”
Similarly, Molkenthin realized the need for breastfeeding support as a nurse working with new mothers.
Lactation Innovations
The company Coates and Molkenthin founded, Lactation Innovations, has developed a noninvasive way to measure the protein in a baby’s stomach and determine how much milk it is consuming.
The device monitoring milk consumption is a small flat device that slips into a pocket of a t-shirt over the stomach of the baby. Using infrared technology, the sensor makes its measurements and transmits them to a mobile device.
What sets Lactations Innovations’ product apart is its comfort and mobility. Similar products on the market require tape and wires to work.
Lactation Innovations has targeted a 2024 launch.
Momcozy
Another company in breastfeeding technology that claims a strong female workforce is Momcozy. This company, launched in 2018, makes a variety of products. The most popular of which is its line of hands-free breast pumps.
These silent devices can be worn discreetly inside a bra to capture milk 24 hours a day. Attached to the small pumps are collection containers that can be detached to pour the milk into bottles. Like Lactation Innovations, Momcozy does not use wires or tubes.
Momcozy has garnered a lot of attention with over 560 million views on TikTok
Mava Lactation Pods
The AAP cited a need for lactation rooms to breastfeed or express milk. Mava’s Lactation pods are designed to meet that need.
Ranging from 16 square feet to 50 square feet, Mava’s pods are designed to be installed in schools or public buildings. Again, these lactation pods do not require special wiring or hardware. A company promotion refers to them as, “plug and play” units.
Each pod features an app-enabled entry system with vacancy alerts. In addition, each unit contains built-in furnishings and lights.
Along with the growing awareness of breastfeeding benefits is a steady supply of customers.
“There are almost 4 million babies born each year in the United States alone,” says Coates. “That means a lot of mothers and babies need our help.”
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