![\"Jayme](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/coates-121_lores-300x200.jpg\")
Health experts recommend that babies are breastfed for at least the first six months of life. The advantages of breastfeeding are many, including better health and immunity for the infant, as well as financial savings because infant formula can cost up to $250 per month.<\/p>\n
Button-Sized Device Gives Crucial Information<\/strong><\/p>\n Lactation Innovations created a small, button-like device that is placed in a pocket of a t-shirt, over the baby\u2019s belly. The device uses infrared technology, similar to what is used for a pulse oximeter to measure oxygen in the blood. It detects the amount of protein from the milk that is in the child\u2019s stomach and calculates how much milk the baby has consumed. The results can then be read on a mobile device.<\/p>\n The technology is safe for the baby, and it allows a mother to breastfeed in a natural way. While there are competitors on the market, they use adhesives and wires to track the baby\u2019s milk intake.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say the major differentiator for Lactation Innovations is that we\u2019re moms, and we\u2019ve designed this for other moms,\u2019\u2019 Coates says.<\/p>\n CCEI Summer Fellowship Helped Company Advance<\/strong><\/p>\n Lactation Consultants was one of 10 UConn-affiliated startups selected to participate in the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation\u2019s (CCEI) Summer Fellowship this past summer. The eight-week program, a part of the School of Business, assists and advises new companies as they become ready for the marketplace.<\/p>\n After the Summer Fellowship program concluded, Lactation Consultants was selected to participate in the School\u2019s pinnacle competition, the Wolff New Venture Competition, in October. The five startups in the competition will vie for a $25,000 award.<\/p>\n Molkenthin, a nursing alum started working on the lactation device in 2017 and had originally conceived of Lactation Innovations appealing to medical professionals. Coates, who has a background in medical devices as well as a master\u2019s degree in biomedical engineering and an MBA, joined the company two years later.<\/p>\n When the company reoriented its products to a consumer market, Coates said she needed advice on how to address consumer sales and distribution. The CCEI team helped strategize the next steps toward a consumer-focused company.<\/p>\n The startup has a patent and several provisional patents. Coates and Molkenthin \u00a0are currently working on a new prototype, which will be completed in the fall, and building out their app to be even more user-friendly. They hope to launch the company next summer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve taken some really cool technology and tried to build a company that is the go-to support system for moms who need help with breastfeeding,\u2019\u2019 Coates says. \u201cOur goal is to help moms reach their breastfeeding goals.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Brittany](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Brittany_Headshot-200x300.jpg\")