BOND allows formula milk to supplement a breastfeeding session without the need to switch to a bottle, helping mothers continue breastfeeding when they have low breastmilk supply. Stakeholders have been involved at every stage of the project. Engineers and Soft Robotics experts were consulted for guidance about prototyping, flow rate testing, and internal mechanisms etc. Interviews with mothers helped to understand deeply about their feelings and their feedback guided emotional design. Conversations with lactation consultants, doulas, and paediatricians played an important role in technical and practical sides of the design. User testing with women was key in building the right fit and look, and these usability testings shaped the product design elements.

Breastfeeding has health benefits for babies and mothers, however missing out on this experience can have emotional consequences with mothers reporting feelings of inadequacy and sadness. Due to low breastmilk supply, mothers switch to bottle feeding even if they don’t want to. This interrupts the intimate breastfeeding connection between the baby’s mouth and the mother’s breast. The mentioned connection signals the brain for milk production, absence of it can lower milk supply further. This is frustrating for mothers who want to breastfeed and increase breastmilk supply. Existing products either fail to offer physical connection, are unaesthetic, or time consuming to set up. This stresses and demoralises mothers even more.

BOND supports and complements the natural breastfeeding experience, whilst creating conditions for milk production. It can also benefit other genders, adoptive parents, women with c-section births or breast surgeries etc. BOND solves an emotional need (simulation of breastfeeding) and a practical need (stimulation of milk production). With this project I aim to give mothers a choice. This product supports the “Fed is Best” wave. For whatever reason, when a caregiver has no or low breastmilk supply, they will have the choice to feed in any method they like. Breastfeeding or not breastfeeding can now be a choice!