Design Challenge and Design Ideas

The universal lateral breastfeeding position is practised by millions of mothers around the world, despite the benefits of this position it can bring around some discomfort when lying in the one position feeding continuously. Bellamoon aims to provide mothers with support and comfort so they can effectively breastfeed, nurture and rest while keeping in the instinctively protective and naturally bonding position.

To effectively design a breastfeeding support system that would cater for all, anthropometric data sets for both mother and child were applied to various prototypes to provide us with the most effective ergonomics. As well as the ergonomic positioning of the breastfeeding supports, the choice of material was key to comfort due to skin contact and the intimacy of the product in use. To meet the luxury requirement of the brief aesthetic consideration and choice of materials would be key.

How the brief was fulfilled

Ultimately Bellamoon provides comfort for both mother and baby, promoting bonding during breastfeeding by increasing the comfort levels of the mother. To achieve this, it soon became apparent that the product would need to a modular construction. Whilst anthropometric data can provide us with strong base ergonomics, comfort can be subjective to an extent. To cater to this finding, the modular design solution meant if the user personally found a particular aspect unsuitable, they could adjust or even remove it with ease.

Prototyping this modular aspect of the design led to finding new uses for each of the modules. In total the completed design has 7 distinct uses; with the core being ‘Full Moon’ and ’Half Moon’ arrangements.

These arrangements allow mothers and babies to lie side by side in the Halfmoon arrangement or in the Full Moon arrangement with the added benefit of comfort to the mother’s neck, shoulders, back and hips while breastfeeding. Full Moon includes an ergonomically shaped ‘mothers pillow’ which lies parallel to the users back, with head and knee pillows providing support in the side position. This pillow can be removed and used separately; both for pre-birth needs as a pregnancy pillow and as an infant feeding pillow in the upright position by combining the removable head and knee pillows. Connecting the pregnancy pillow and Half Moon is a removable section that can be used as a nursing/breastfeeding privacy cover.

The ‘Half Moon’ pod where the baby lies includes an outer pillow to help prevent the baby from rolling out of bed and a soft yet structural removable wedge between the mother and baby. This wedge creates awareness of baby’s position while breastfeeding; the option to have this was a key feature the client felt strongly about from the beginning.

The luxury requirement of the brief was fulfilled with its strong aesthetic theme and material choices. Whilst first and foremost the textiles used had to reach the required safety standards, consideration was taken to the quality and overall feel of the material during skin contact with prolonged daily use.

Bellamoon won the Mums & Tots Best New Product Award 2018 and has received a positive endorsement from the UK Royal College of Midwives, who wish to introduce it into the NHS.