Ultra-Personalized Breast Pumps: Reducing Discomfort and Improving Breast Pumping Experience

Abstract

Breast pumps are often used by nursing mothers as breastfeeding support in lactation. However, breast pumping is sometimes not a pleasant journey for mothers. Pump-related discomfort and pain were reported by many women. The goal of this project is to solve pump-related problems and optimise breast pumping ergonomic comfort by reducing discomfort and ultra-personalizing.

I closely studied the principles of breastfeeding/lactating, the problems mothers encountered during breast pumping, and the existing solutions and breast pump products on the market. The insights were gathered from the research, which formed the two pain points for pump-related problems: mothers lack emotional connections with breast pumps which restricts the hormone release for milk ejection reflex; the mismatch of breast pump shields causes most pain and discomfort. After analysis of the causal model and the frame innovation, the two main problems were reframed as follows: there could be more physical stimuli on the nipple and areola to make up for the shortness of psychological stimuli; the optimized pressure distribution could reduce the pain and discomfort.

To solve the two problems above, the envisioned breast pump design direction was narrowed into three perspectives: ideal breast contour achieved by 3D scanning; ideal pressure distribution based on perceived discomfort differences in different breast areas; effective physical stimuli applied on nipple and areola based on correct mechanisms (compression), intensity and local pressure sensitivity differences.

The preliminary design requirements were concluded according to the previous research. To consolidate the LoR (List of Requirements), experiments regarding breast sensitivity were implemented on 20 women to find the discomfort thresholds and lower sensory thresholds of women’s breasts. Two breast sensitivity map towards positive pressure was made to present the difference: the breast discomfort thresholds increase from the nipple top to the outer breast. The breast tactile thresholds decrease from the nipple side to the outer breast, and the sensitivity of nipple top is between the nipple base and the areola. And there are correlations between breast sensitivity and other parameters such as breast volume. Apart from that, other experiments show that a personalized perfectly-fit breast pump shield has a better force distribution than normal breast pump shields. An artificial breast was also made for further verification.

After that, concept ideas were generated and used for virtual exploration. According to the experiment conclusions and views from users and experts, a consolidated LoR (list of requirements) for a possible ultra-personalized breast pump design was made. The consolidated LoR was applied for a design proposal, which has a personalized adjustable shield shape with better pressure distribution and bigger contact areas. The design proposal was prototyped and verified on an artificial breast and compared with traditional breast pump shields. It was proved to be theoretically more comfortable than traditional breast pumps.