Startups look to redesign the breast pump

The machines use harsh plastic parts, they are noisy and cumbersome, and they require a lot of maintenance and cleaning, which challenge bleary-eyed new parents.

[...] a growing number of startups wants to make the breast pump more mother-friendly, using soft silicone parts or keeping their noise level down to make it easier for them to work and pump simultaneously.

Because they are considered medical devices, breast pumps sold in the U.S. must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

For the male-dominated tech industry that’s working on “disrupting” everything from meal delivery to taxicabs, the idea of reinventing the breast pump has simply not been on the horizon.

[...] most of the startups working on new pumps and accessories are parents who grew frustrated with what’s on the market today.

Pumping, for the uninitiated, generally involves many complicated steps: finding a place to do it, putting on a special pumping bra, assembling the valves, tubes, bottles and various plastic parts that attach the pump to the breasts, then the actual pumping.

Among its most important improvements is its two-phase expression technology, which mimics the way babies nurse — first, quick sucks to simulate milk production, then long gulps once the mother’s milk “lets down.”

Noting that many of today’s moms are “digital natives” who like to have information at their hands, Medela also recently created an app that helps parents track their baby’s activities and get help with breastfeeding.

A husband-and-wife startup called Naya Health has submitted a pump for FDA approval that uses water — hydraulics — instead of an air-based suction to express milk from the breast, and soft silicone instead of hard plastic to surround the nipple.

Janica Alvarez, whose engineer husband concocted a breast pump using a surgical glove, duct tape and other stuff he found around the house, hopes to release the Naya Health Smart Pump this year.

Because it uses water technology rather than a vacuum motor, Alvarez, who nursed all three of her sons, says it is more akin to a nursing baby.