Image Courtesy of Cube Modular:Image for reference but not the finalised design.
Project MumPod® 2021 began 18-months ago with a vision to develop a ‘pod’ for breastfeeding parents* for when they are at work or in public places to express their breast milk, if apart from baby or breastfeed baby if they require a private place.
Our Managing Director and Founder Rosamund McFadden RM IBCLC, is behind the innovation drawing on her own experience as a working mother of four children and in her professional capacity as a midwife (RM) and lactation consultant (IBCLC). Ros developed a workshop for breastfeeding parents preparing to return to work: Back to Life Back to Reality. When covering the issue of where they would express their breastmilk she found there was a distinct lack of facilities. The first iteration of the MumPod® was a pack for employers to hire or buy for their staff in collaboration with the WHO code compliant Breast Pump Company Ardo Medical
The MumPod® will be accessed through a booking app, to gain secure access the pod with a vision to collect user datasets to establish the pattern and needs of the breastfeeding parent to underpin future innovations and lobby for better research.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends breastfeeding exclusively for six-months, with supplementary food for up to two years or beyond to protect the health of the both mother and baby.
Despite this, there is little focus on the needs of the breastfeeding parent beyond the early weeks and one in eight mothers** think they need to give up breastfeeding when they return to work.
Employers have to provide places for pregnant or new mothers to rest (which can refer to expressing their breastmilk) but these are often shared spaces, such as prayer rooms or medical rooms, which do not fully meet their needs. The MumPod® offers a solution that will ensure the space is protected for these employees. The public provision varies but often breastfeeding areas or rooms are found in the toilets of a public building or shopping mall. The MumPod® is a self-contained unit that is clean, private and lockable designed with the breastfeeding or pregnant parent in mind.
National data on breastfeeding rates are only collected up until the baby is 8 weeks old and it can be argued that without sufficient data, policy and provision cannot reflect the needs of breastfeeding parents beyond this stage. Despite WHO’s recommendations the needs of the breastfeeding mother are being overlooked, especially so in the working environment. There are some commendable initiatives and provisions but these are not the norm and their needs are not being considered.
In the conversations our Managing Director and Founder Rosamund McFadden has had with senior corporate leaders she would hear statements such as, “I didn’t realise women still breastfed this long”, or “I didn’t realise woman needed to express during the day at work.”
Access to the MumPod® will be gained via a booking app and will be the platform to collect these datasets. The mother would register their membership to enable a unique access method, such as a via fingerprint recognition, an access codes or manually. Establishing the specific technology and datasets will be a key element of the project.
with comfortable seating featuring a pull out footrest and a drop down table. The pods will be offered various fittings packs to include a lockable fridge, no touch hand sanitiser, baby changing table, digital display screen to name a few. The MumPod® is fully wheelchair accessible.
For each employee retained saves a business at least £30,000
*parent – the lactating parent who directly feeds the child no matter what gender they identify as
**mother – used when this refers to specific evidence and this is the term used
