Many people talk about the magical parts about becoming a mother. But so often we forget about, or avoid talking about the difficult, maybe embarrassing parts about being a mom for fear that we are abnormal or that we’re a failure.
One of those difficult parts is the challenges faced with breastfeeding. A significant part of being a mother with a newborn.
If you’re a new mom or expecting you’re probably no stranger to the studies that have been published on the incredible benefits of breastfeeding your children. Just to list a few, there is a greater resistance to developing things such as systemic autoimmune diseases, allergies, and neurodevelopmental disorders (Weng & Walker, 2013). Other findings from a recent study suggest that breast milk provides babies with diverse gut microbiome that helps protect them from harmful diseases (Stewart et al., 2016). These are just a few of the incredible things breast milk can provide.
But breastfeeding isn’t easy - with so many moms experiencing difficulties with latching, nipple confusion(after the baby is introduced to a bottle), nipple pain and discomfort, anxiety about whether or not they are producing enough milk, and so on. These are such common issues experienced among moms...but what solutions have really been offered?
That’s what we are trying to do with The Natural Nipple. Our goal is to pioneer the first study that explores women’s natural flow rate at different stages post-birth and differences in nipple shape and structure to develop a better breast to bottle solution.
We want to design a bottle and nipple that doesn’t disrupt your breastfeeding by providing you with a bottle and bottle nipple that mimics your natural shape and flow rate so you’re able to more easily go between breast and bottle.
What you’re doing is important, but life and other things can make it difficult. So for any mom who is trying to breastfeed but needs to get back to work, any mom who is experiencing extreme pain and needs to take a break from direct feeding, or struggling with breastfeeding in any other way we want to offer a solution.
We would greatly appreciate your input as well because we can’t do this without your help!
If you can, please fill out the survey below or donate a small amount to help us get this project off to a running start!
Stewart, C. J., Embleton, N. D., Marrs, E. C. L., Smith, D. P., Nelson, A., Abdulkadir, B., . . . Cummings, S. P. (2016). Temporal bacterial and metabolic development of the preterm gut reveals specific signatures in health and disease. Microbiome(1). doi:10.1186/s40168-016-0216-8
Weng, M., & Walker, W. A. (2013). The role of gut microbiota in programming the immune phenotype.Journal of Developmental Origins of Health & Disease, 4(3), 203.
team of clinicians, scientists, and mothers pioneering advancements to empower breastfeeding, promote bonding, and optimize wellness for mothers and babies worldwide