For parents who breastfeed, a new addition to the family often comes with a clunky gadget for whenever the baby isn’t available to nurse: a breast pump‚ traditionally a leaky‚ loud device that keeps its user tethered to an outlet and hidden behind closed doors. That changed in 2017‚ when Willow and design partner Ideo launched a wearable breast pump, one of the first of its kind. (Other manufacturers soon followed suit.)
Unlike older pumps‚ which rely on tubes and plastic bottles‚ Willow’s rounded devices sit discreetly inside a bra‚ track pumping progress‚ and relay that data to a companion app. It presents more as a brush with Apple than a trip to a 1970s-era hospital.
But unlike a smartphone or a laptop‚ nursing technology can work only if it suits all chests‚ and bodies come in many sizes and belong to people with unique preferences. So in 2020, Willow lured its current chief product officer‚ Dan Judkins‚ away from Hasbro‚ where he’d developed connected games and toys.
“They’ve disrupted a category‚ and that’s motivating‚” says Judkins of his new employer. His job is to make good on that disruption by building out an ecosystem of products that take full advantage of Willow’s marquee technology. (Designing a pumping system as a non-breastfeeder “felt weird for half a day‚” Judkins admits‚ but adds that “as a designer‚ you don’t design for yourself‚ you design for other people.”)
So far‚ Judkins is finding that the company’s high-tech pumping system needs some low-tech infrastructure to increase performance‚ which‚ at Willow‚ gets measured as milk output. As of now that includes silicone inserts to accommodate different nipple sizes and an adjustable‚ wireless bra with mesh panels to hold the pumps.
These novel touch points promise to make the newly digitized pumping process more efficient‚ accessible‚ and dignified. Willow’s sizing inserts‚ for instance‚ can be used with non-Willow breast pumps—an acknowledgment of how expensive it is to acquire new baby gear. “We just try to make things as easy as possible‚” Judkins says.
