You might think that breastfeeding is one of those natural things that don’t need electronic help. Women have been doing it for millennia and the human race is still here so they must have gotten it right, for the most part. It is true that some women more trouble than others, but the difficulty is most often medical or, well, mechanical, rather than portion control.
Apparently, however. there is an electronic niche for everything.
Momsense, The Smart Breastfeeding Monitor, tracks the amount of breast milk an infant takes in while breastfeeding. The wearable device consists of earphones for Mom, a sensor for the baby, and a smartphone app. The company claims its patented technology listens and tracks baby’s physiological swallowing sounds and patterns, informing you how much the child has consumed.
There is, however, no explanation of how swallowing sounds are translated into ounces consumed. Not every baby’s stomach is the same size, not every baby is satisfied with the same amount. It would be useful to know how the device helps you to determine whether or not your child has had enough. At the end of the tutorial, the app shows the child has consumed 44cc of breast milk, but the significance of the data is left unexplained.
On the other hand, a couple of young mothers we know pointed out that for first-time mothers, just being able to listen to their child nurse would be comforting. (Dads can listen in, too.) One also mentioned that Momsense could be useful for mothers who both breastfeed and breastpump, allowing those women to be sure they were providing their child enough food when they left her at Grandma’s or childcare. Momsense also tracks a child’s feeding’s over time, which can also be comforting information to new mothers and possibly useful in spotting problems early.
Momsense costs $89.