About a week and half ago I saw an article flash across my newsfeed about a company that was innovating a new breast pump to overcome some pitfalls inherent in pumps currently on the market. Well, of course that’s going to grab my attention! And then as I read more, I found out that they are developing it right here in St. Louis. Well, now that just made my day.
I started reading and got a little teary-eyed
The thing that touched me most was that the pump does not use the standard setup flange + bottle cantilevered off the chest. What this meant for me, an exclusive pumper, was that whenever I was pumping, that’s ALL I was doing: PUMPING. I could not hold my daughter to play with her. I could not hold her to comfort her. I could not hold her to feed her. All I could do was lay her in front of me, and use my hands as far as they could reach beyond the flanges to entertain her. I spent my entire maternity leave like that, feeling like I missed out on giving her as many snuggles as I would have otherwise had if I had been feeding at-breast.
This new pump is being designed with very small cups that would have allowed me to hold my daughter while I pumped. That thought brought a tear to my eye. It inspired me to reach out to the husband-wife development team behind Babyation to send them a small message of support that their pump would have been a welcome addition to my routine of exclusively pumping.
My thoughts on the design
Prototype of Babyation cups vs. standard flanges on the market. Photo courtesy of Babyation.
The design of this appears similar to the Freemie cups, in that they are worn inside the bra. However, I’ve heard the the design of Freemies sometimes isn’t customized enough to nipple size, and that they also aren’t as subtle a profile as one might hope. Part of the reason for this is that the Freemie cups aren’t just flanges, they also collect the milk. The Babyation cups are different; they don’t hold the milk — the milk is sent down tubes into bottles so there’s much less bulk up top. This is a significant change over anything else available. This is what would have allowed me to hold my daughter while pumping.
Sam and Jared, the owners of Babyation, responded and asked if I’d like to meet. I gladly met with them a couple of days later. They certainly seem like they’ve done their research. It even sounds like they have their own pump museum at this point.
And I found out they have great intentions, including a desire to make sure eventually the pump is able to make it into the hands of some of those who would benefit most from this design — workers in service industries. A large percentage service industry jobs are minimum wage jobs and these are some of the families most at-risk of cessation of breastfeeding because of a number of factors that make continuing to work and pump extremely difficult. Babyation’s goal is to be able to offer the pumps through insurance, plus a desire to set up a one-for-one program.
I do have concerns. I wonder if the pump’s price point may be high enough that it may be difficult to get it on insurance plans. And there’s no telling when the one-for-one plan may be viable. Additionally, knowing that the pump relies exclusively on having a smart phone, I’m afraid this might continue to be a barrier for minimum-wage families, though of course market share of smartphones continues to grow, including among those considered to be smartphone dependent (having limited or no access to internet other than a smartphone). In order to have a pump that provides better accessibility for all, I understand that you have to start somewhere. Can’t build Rome in a day.
Can this be a viable option for Exclusive Pumpers?
As I said before, I was really drawn to this pump as someone with a history of exclusively pumping for a child. That being said, I also have reservations about suggesting the first generation of a pump to anyone who is exclusively pumping or who has confirmed low supply. These are also populations who are at-risk for not meeting their feeding goals.
This first generation pump is being designed as a retail/single-user model, so the motor will be not as strong, smooth or last as long as a pump that we might put in the category of hospital-grade. (Note: the term “hospital-grade” is not an FDA term; there is no official definition of hospital grade, though it is generally regarded as meaning that the pump motor is designed to last thousands of hours — vs single-user pumps which are rated for about 300-500 hours — and that it is a closed system, meaning that the air that passes over the nipple and the milk does not get into the pump chamber via a barrier and parts that are changed out between users in order to be hygienically safe.)
Those who are EPing or who have low supply and trying to build supply are strongly recommended to use a hospital-grade pump. Additionally, this is new technology, and I hate for anyone who is in one of these tenuous categories to end up putting themselves in the role of guinea pig on a first-generation technology, where milk supply is entirely dependent upon a brand-new technology. On the other hand, however, if a parent is struggling so much that they are strongly considering giving up, and this pump seems like the only or last feasible option to try, who am I to place absolutes?
Sam and Jared do plan to offer a hospital-grade version at some point down the road, so this is good news for the EP crowd. It’s just another level of development, prototyping and expense.
The customization options that will be available by switching the controls from the unit to a smartphone is a significant change from the status quo, as well. The number of options for customization is theoretically limitless, though they may need to simplify a bit so as not to overwhelm users with options. But this opens the door much wider for pumping patterns that match what an individual needs. This could be especially important for anyone who doesn’t have a baby nursing to keep up supply.
More about some of the customization options they are working on in this video:
Hoping for good things to come
Overall, I’m really excited for what this means for pumping. This should also spur other companies to develop completely new innovations, as well, and because I advocate for being open to using whatever pump option is the best fit for you (See my post, “Choosing the Best Breast Pump: You Have Options Beyond Medela”), this can only be good news for families. I can’t wait to see the growth of this local St. Louis company!
To find out more about this St. Louis startup and their pump, check out their website, www.babyation.com or their Kickstarter page.
Disclaimer: I have no ties, financial or otherwise, to Babyation. I’m simply a geek about pumps and wanted to share my thoughts and excitement.
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