CHICAGO (WGN) Researchers at Northwestern University say a new wearable device they’ve developed can help ease the anxiety many moms experience over how much breast milk their baby is consuming at each feeding.
Biomedical engineer John Rogers and his team previously invented soft, wireless wearables that monitor infants’ vital signs in the neonatal intensive care unit. He called their new device that focuses on moms “embarrassingly simple” to use.
“They just stick to the surface of the skin. Just peel and stick on the breast,” he said.
Like electrodes that detect heart activity, the noninvasive device measures a specific electrical signal in the breast that’s converted to a quantity of milk. The data is then wirelessly transmitted to the mother’s smartphone, giving her real-time information about how much milk the baby is consuming.
“You can just watch your baby consuming milk. If you see the consumption stops, for instance, the baby is still suckling, maybe you change positions,” Rogers explained. “You can correct for interruption that occurs during breastfeeding.”
The sensor was developed for premature babies, but Rogers and his team hope to make it commercially available for all new mothers in about two years.
Julia Seitchik, a mother of three, tested the device shortly after her son Harry was born and is excited for others to have the same opportunity.
“You never know if your kids are falling asleep, if they are eating, if they are snacking. You don’t know if they had 3 ounces, 5 ounces,” she said. “In a world driven by so much data and knowledge, just having some accuracy and knowledge around how much your kids are eating is a huge peace of mind.”
Rogers and his team believe they can further tweak the tech to measure milk quality and how fast the milk refills after a feeding.
