Nazneen Yusof | Sanctuary

Sanctuary

by Nazneen Yusof

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An Introduction

Babies who are fed nothing but breast milk from birth through their first 6 months of life get the best start.

Exclusive breastfeeding provides babies: the perfect nutrition and everything they need for healthy growth and brain development. Babies also gain protection from respiratory infections, diarrheal disease, other life-threatening ailments, obesity and non-communicable diseases such as asthma and diabetes.1 The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding through 6 months following a child’s birth and persists until the infant is at least 12 months of age. Other organizations such as the World Health Organization, the US Surgeon General’s office and American Academy of Family Physicians even recommends a longer duration of breastfeeding.2 World Health Organization (Aug 2015) 2 American Journal of Public Health (Feb 2011)

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BREAST PUMPING JOURNEY

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What is breast pumping?

Breast pumping is the act of collecting breast milk into a container that can be used for storing or feeding. The extracted breast milk are then stored (either in the fridge or freezer) to be fed to the baby later by using a baby bottle.

Pumping breast milk ensures a longer duration of mothers feeding their baby with breast milk to provide them with the best nutrition. Pumping when not directly feeding prevents from engorgement of the breasts as the milk is constantly produced.3

Why do mothers pump breast milk?

There are several reasons as to why mothers would resort to breast pumping. The most common reason would be because mothers have to get back to work after a few weeks. Other reasons could also be due to the fact that some babies do not latch properly, is hospitalized after birth or cannot nurse due to physical reasons. It is an alternative that ensures the continuation of breastfeeding despite it being fed to the babies through bottles.

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World Health Organization (2015)

THE BREAST PUMP What It Is And How It Works

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that women breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of her baby’s life. However, not all mothers are able to breastfeed their children directly due to work that requires them to be away. For these mothers, breast pumps allows them to feed their baby her own milk without having to be with her baby.

Breast pumps vary based on mechanics and manufacturers, but they all work on the same basic principles. The breast pump collects milk through a flange that sits over the nipple and areola to create a seal. With a vacuum around the nipple, air is pulled into the flange. With a manual breast pump, the mother squeezes a lever to create and release suction. A batterypowered and electric pumps use motors which connects to the flanges with plastic tubing to create a pull on the mother’s nipples.

Medela manual breast pump

The diaphragm that is apart of the battery-powered and electric breast pumps helps create suction and release. It also acts as a barrier separating the milk from the suction source to avoid contamination. A membranous valve is also attached to help maintain proper suction.

With these in order, the milk passes through the flange, through the valve and into the collecting container that attaches directly to the pump.

Mothers purchase breast pumps according to their needs and preferences. Through user survey, plenty of brands are being used by mothers but there are some famous brands like Medela, Lansinoh, Avent, First Years, and more.

Medela battery-powered breast pump

Medela electric breast pump

MOTHER’S DECISION MAKING An Emotional Journey

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Emotional Experience

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Inquires friends and family for tips and tricks “This is quite complicated!”

DEVELOPS NEED TO CONTINUE BREAST FEEDING Description

Journey Phases

Mother is overwhelmed by the birth of her first child. She is very happy and nervous about being a mother. She enjoys the very few days she has to spend with her daughter before she has to head back to work. She then becomes worried because she wants to continue feeding her baby with her body milk.

Recommendation Design something that would better prepare new mothers to face their first few days with her newborn.

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LOOKS FOR WAYS TO STORE HER BREAST MILK Description Mother looks into existing products and begins to compare between products. She looks for ways to efficiently store her breast milk. She goes on-line to see how existing breast pumping mothers do it and tries some DIY methods of her own but can only do so much.

Recommendation Mothers who work have to transport milk from their office to their home every day. Cooler bags are needed for hot weather but doesn’t guarantee milk safety.

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Through user observation, the decision making chart shows the thought process of mothers who breast feed their children and practices breast pumping while they are away from their children. There are a lot of ‘experimenting’ that they go through before they finally get to an understanding of the products and ways of organizing themselves. They even change a lot of their ways in order to give way to better solutions.

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BEGINS ORGANIZING HERSELF Description Mother learns from other mothers and websites about how to organize her breast milk. She figures if she doesn’t start earlier, she would mess everything up as she continues to produce milk.

She tries out generic containers and constantly improves herself

Recommendation Have a specific organizer that would allow mothers to properly date, arrange and store their breast milk so they don’t have to figure things out by themselves.

SETTLES WITH WHAT SHE HAS BUT KEEPS SEARCHING Description Mother continues with her journey of discovering better ways to organize her breast milk. She has tried several different products and she thinks she’s settled with her current way of organizing, although would still be open to new suggestions and products.

Recommendation Tackle the problem of minimizing time spent when storing and giving mothers more time to focus on something other than organizing their breast milk, thus also minimizing risk of making milk go bad.

USER INTERVIEW With Nurul Nazly Tan

Nurul is a mother of three. She works as a Chemical Engineer in Malaysia and used to be a heavy supplier of breast milk. She pumped milk every day at work since she is unable to feed her child directly.

How often does she usually use the breast pump?

Nurul uses the breast pump every weekday in the office. She only uses it to ensure constant flow of breast milk and no engagement.

How does she store her breast milk at work?

Using a Medela cooler bag, she places the breast milk she collects into it and it also comes along with an ice pack.

How does she store them at home?

She has a deep freezer specially for her children’s food and milk. She dates them and batch them into a few days intervals then places them in a tupperware for easy access when they are stacked together as new batches come.

What does she find troublesome sometimes?

She finds it troubling keeping the bags of milks organized. She would have to take most of the milk out to reach in for the old batch. It’s also a hassle to wait for the milk bags to freeze first before being able to stack them vertically for efficient use of space.

Interview done through a video conference medium

USER INTERVIEW With Syahidatul Hajaraih

Syahidatul ‘Syeda’ is a mother of two boys. As a post graduate here in the University of Illinois, she also pumps milk for her younger child. She pumps when she is away at school and immediately feeds the milk.

How often does she usually use the breast pump?

She pumps just enough to make sure that the milk does not go to waste and to prevent engorgement from being away from her child.

What does she think about the breast pump features?

When interviewed, she mentions how the flange that comes with the breast pump is very stiff and easily cause leakage when in use.

How does she store them at home?

She does not own a deep freezer and does not freeze her breast milk due to lack of space in the existing fridge at home. She does prefer it if she can store her milk in her readily existing freezer instead of having to purchase a deep freezer.

Interview done through face-to-face interview

GOOGLE USER SURVEY

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With 400+ Responses From Mothers

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The survey was distributed to on-line groups of breast feeding mothers. The response was overwhelming and it showed a clear area of a group of users who have opinions over the current product they use.

Collection Phase How do you collect your milk?

Majority uses both milk bottles and milk bags to store their milk. This also means that mothers would transfer their milk from bottles into milk bags.

What they say about the flanges Some mothers mention that the flange that comes with the existing breast pump are stiff and cause soreness. It also causes leaking when pumping milk due to lack of suction.

Storing Phase Where do they store their milk containers?

Majority places them in the same freezer they store in their food produce or have a separated section in the fridge just for their breast milk.

How long do they store milk?

Majority of mothers store milk for about a month or more than two weeks. Some even go as less as not more than a day.

When asked about storage of breast milk what are the major concerns that were brought up?

It will be good if the container is invented so that dates can be written on the it straight away with ease like a cleaning board It is not well organized and caused some breast milk to be wasted Space is the main problem

USER OBSERVATION

Understanding How Mothers Do It Throughout researching, I looked into two different phases: the collection phase and storing phase. It was very easy to obtain information about mothersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience through watching videos on-line; mothers who document their ways of getting by with their daily breast pumping. I highlighted a few problems that were constantly showing. The three problems I decided to tackle are real problems that mothers have mentioned and that I have observed myself.

Collection Phase

Collection & Storing Phase

The flange is rigid and causes soreness to the nipples during pumping due to the fact that they are made of hard plastic, which is not very friendly to the nipples.

When mothers collect milk at work, their breast pumps would usually come with attachments to collect into bottles. For a lot of mothers, they opt to freeze and store their breast milk for a longer time.

Milk leaks at the bottom during pumping due to weak suctions when flanges does not fit or follow the shape and size of the breast.

While bottles could be used, mothers also use the alternative of a milk bag to store their milk because milk bags take up less space in the freezer and they are cheaper to buy compared to buying a lot of bottles.

For these mothers, they would come home from work and transfer their milk from the bottles into the milk bags. This process takes time and it also adds up to the amount of bottles they need to clean.

Storing Phase

Mothers first store them horizontally to let liquid milk freeze. When frozen, they would return to it and store them in boxes or containers vertically.

By storing vertically, The First In First Out (FIFO) method could be applied i.e. the oldest milk bag could be accessed first and the newest one would be accessed last. If mothers store them in stacks, it would be hard for them to obtain the oldest milk bag at the very bottom of the batch.

I also observe that while there are products out there that helps with storing it flat vertically, mothers still very much use this method and use generic cardboard boxes to store their milk instead of purchasing.

PROBLEM STATEMENT The Challenges To Tackle

I

How can mothers avoid soreness and leaking from using the flanges?

II

How can mothers pump their milk directly into existing milk bags?

III

How can mothers store their milk bags vertically in liquid state?

MARKET RESEARCH Breast pumping products

What’s in market for the breast pump flanges?

Most breast flanges range between 21mm-36mm. Most flanges are the conical shape. But some features that help to “hug” the breast to improve on suction. Occasionally there would be breast flanges that has part flexible silicone1 to help with comfort.

What’s in market for the breast pump attachments?

All breast pump manufacturers have their breast pump directly attached to ready-to-drink bottles. However, there hasn’t been much in market to allow for mothers to pump directly into milk bags. The current solutions that some manufacturers like Medela2 and Ameda3 have are hooks that goes into the holes of their own milk bags and also a flap4 that goes over the neck of a flange to help the milk bag hang. There are also other rising ideas for a milk bag that has a mouth5 that could screw into existing bottle attachments.

What’s in market for the breast milk storage?

There aren’t many products that helps with efficient storing. Medela6 has a bottle tray that helps keep bottles in place. A product called Milkies Freeze7 found a way to store milk bag horizontally and follow the FIFO method. The First Years8 and Dr. Brown9 came up with products that allow milk bags to be stored vertically.

However, mothers do not resort to buying storage products. Many of them have come up with creative ways to manage their breast milk by making DIY containers and making use of the existing fridge parts.

Flanges

Attachments

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Storing Phase

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I. IDEATION FOR FLANGES Ideas and playing with concept

The breast flanges are typically conical.

Throughout my ideation, there were plenty of possibilities that sprung to mind. Firstly, I played with the shape and orientation of the flanges. Understanding how mothers sit or stand while breast pumping is essential to understand how the flange would be used.

Sketches I explored with shapes and forms, branching away a bit from the conical shape and instead of having a generic 45 degree cone, wonder how it would be if the flange would have a different shape for the two hemispheres.

Product with silicone of various thickness

Existing Solutions I looked into corrugations. Pumpin’ Pal came up with a “Good Latch” flange that has corrugations to allow the flange to twist around comfortably.

Material Research After considering shapes and orientation, I went out to department stores to take a look at materials. I began to think about the flange as a different material rather than just a hard plastic.

Spoon holder made of silicone of various thickness Silicone molded with hard plastic

I looked into how silicones are used in different ways. Silicones could be manipulated through thickness. The thicker the silicone is, the more rigid it is.

Besides that, I also saw how hard plastic could be attached to silicone to allow for partial flexibility and rigidity.

WW’ Pal’s flexible breast shield

Glossy flexible silicone

II. IDEATION FOR ATTACHMENT Ideas and playing with concept

Since the beginning of the ideation for the attachment, it was my intention to have milk pumped directly into milk bags. Starting off with existing ideas of inspiration, I tried coming up with various possibilities.

I gave into though the possibility of making a new line of milk bags that could be used with the existing milk bags. But the more I explored the idea, the more I realize it will only take up more space since the opening would have to be of the same size as the existing attachments.

Later on, I looked at how I could make an add-on part to the existing attachments that allows milk bags to be attached, without having to buy a separate one. However, I gave up this idea because I would have to adhere to the circular shape of the mouth which doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite fit the diameter of the milk bagâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mouth.

Jam jars with strings to hold the cover

Finally, I focused my ideas on making a separate attachment, one that could be bought separately from the bottle attachments and be used just like it would be used with bottles.

Collapsible shampoo container with cover

I looked at various locking systems, ranging from elastic bangs to strings to circular locks and hinges. Many of them were feasible but I tried to find the most efficient solution.

Collapsible water bottle

Circular locking mechanism

III. IDEATION FOR STORAGE Ideas and playing with concept

There were plenty of inspirations that came in mind during the exploration of this challenge. There were a few things that needed to be considered.

Firstly it is essential that the milk bags could be stored flat as opposed to an irregular shape. A flat milk bag could be stored like paper in a file and could easily be browsed through with their labels upright. This also includes using the First In First Out method.

Secondly, it is also useful to know that milk expands when it freezes. When milk bags stacked together in a tight space, they would stick to one another. If thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not much room to expand, the milk bags might break and could cause waste of milk when thawed.

I wanted to eliminate the part where mothers have to return to their firstly stored flat milk bags to put them in a container in order to store them vertically. With that, I imagined a container that could store milk flat within the storage container itself, be able to store the milk bags vertically even at the liquid stage, is modular when bought in multiple quantities, and has a good labeling system that goes with it.

Having milk bags between two flat panels to store vertically

I looked at the current products available today like the spring release storage panel that The First Years had. As well as the many DIY methods that mothers have done through YouTube videos.

The First Years spring release storage

Generic containers used to store

MATERIAL & MANUFACTURING ANALYSIS Understanding Materials, Production & Costs

Choosing Materials Materials for baby products should be well thought out because babies are at a tender age so there should be minimum risks from what they consume and interact with.

LDPE

Hard Silicone

Soft, flexible Safe and recyclable Used for baby milk bags

Soft, flexible Not chemically reactive Has better surface touch

Tritan Copolyester

Flexible Magnets

Very durable Low contamination risk BPA-free material Aesthetically appealing

Strong and flexible Cheap form of bonding Stronger when cold

Plastic Extrusion

3D Printing

Continuous High production volume Low cost per pound Efficient melting

Reduced costs Rapid prototyping Customizable size

Injection Molding

Compression Molding

Fast production Color & material flexible Low labor cost Low waste

Low cost tooling Good for large parts

Non-Toxic, BPA-Free BPA are phthalates are one of the chemicals used in plastics that could be harmful to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body because babies have a decreased ability to clear BPA from their systems.4 Nutritional Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

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Manufacturing Analysis Manufacturing processes should account for cost, time, and impact towards the environment.

Mass Manufacturing Production of product would be most efficient when the technique ensures quality, safety and quantity of production per time.5 The Manufacturing Guides: Product Furniture Design by Rob Thomas

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Sanctuary

I. SOLUTION FOR FLANGES Corrugated and Flexible Flange

The solution to the flanges is a both corrugated and flexible flange. It consists of both hard plastic and at the middle, corrugated and flexible silicone part that gives the flange an adjustable function.

Applying silicone to the flanges help with allowing it to be both rigid and flexible.

Rigid enough to hold still while pumping yet flexible enough to help with soothing the nipples while breast pumping. Soreness could be reduced since the nipples are not forced to follow the shape of the flange.

The corrugation allows the flange to be moved around while pumping in case of slight movements made by mother while pumping. Mothers could move a lot more than they would be able to with the existing hard plastic flanges.

Mothers wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry about buying breast shields since the silicone is a part of the flange, so there could be less parts to the breast pumps.

II. SOLUTION FOR ATTACHMENT Pumping directly into milk bags

This attachment consists of an oval-shaped mouth that follows the shape of the mouth of existing milk bags flaps. The milk bags are held on to the attachments by strong elastic rubber bands. The rubber band holds the milk bags firmly by their flap.

This method helps eliminate the part where mothers have to transfer milk from the bottles to the milk bags due to having no ability to pump directly into milk bags efficiently.

Besides that, this design is made to be used with existing milk bags sold. Therefore, it is a cheaper option for mothers rather than having to buy a newly designed milk bag.

An improvement suggestion to this design would be to have the rubber bands embedded into a ridge. This would allow for a better grip for the milk bag flaps.

I. SOLUTION FOR STORAGE A container to store milk bags vertically 1. Mother collects breast milk Mothers begin collecting milk into their preferred milk bags. When they are ready, they can retrieve container from the freezer.

2. Put milk bags between planes

3. Place frozen milk bags into the other end of container When thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a newer batch to put between the planes, mothers could transfer the frozen bags into the other end without planes where they can stand upright on its own.

The bags with liquid milk are inserted into the slots which allows them to be stored upright as opposed to laying them flat.

4. Detach planes when milk freezes and cover up The planes could be detached and attached according to how many of them are needed. Eventually, as the container fills up, they will be used in another container.

Thicker Sides as the ‘spine’ The middle part of the plane is thinner than the sides, since the sides act as the ‘spine’ of the plane that locks them in place.

Embedded Magnet that Attracts Magnets are embedded in the sides of the panels. These magnets cause the panels to attract one another. Giving a strong enough force to keep the milk bags between them upright when in liquid form.

Flexible but Sturdy Plastic Milk expands as they freeze, taking up more space than its liquid form. The material should be sturdy enough to hold the liquid bags up, but flexible enough to bend when it freezes.

TYPE NAME FROM TO OZ

Breast Milk

Containers with Labels

Rachel

Labeling is one of the most important things mothers look for when they purchase milk bags or anything that involves storing breast milk. It is important that each milk is organized according to date.

8/10/15 8/15/15 6 oz each

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Color Coded Containers The idea is that the lids could be changed according to dates.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To those involved

Thank yous sound a little bit cliche, but I want nothing more than to thank the right people for this amazing journey that I’ve been throughout completing my senior thesis. None of this would be made possible without them.

I would like to thank Professor Weightman, for the guidance and many discussion sessions I have had to begin figuring out what it is that I am actually doing with my thesis(!) Also for encouraging me to continue on with my topic when I felt like it was a dead-end.

To Professor Bullock, I thank you for your kind and very generous comments throughout studio sessions. And for always being willing to help out.

To Professor Shin for helping me with the start of my thesis exploration and development. Thank you for brainstorming with me on my breast milk storage container and helping me come up with a brilliant solution.

To all the other Professors who has helped me throughout my Industrial Design journey every since Freshmen year; thank you thank you thank you.

I would also like to thank all my classmates for being a great support

system - whether you guys know it or not. Many times, I have approached the people I approach with a problem, an idea, a “How do I do this?” and a “What does this mean?” and they have never failed to entertain my questions with sincere answers. These are the people who help contribute to my skills development. I will miss you all.

To the School of Art & Design for the great opportunities and resources that they provide in helping me complete my thesis. To 3D printing, computers, workshops and even the cameras I use to shoot my videos. Wouldn’t have been able to produce quality work without these amazing resources we have.

To my beloved parents, who never stopped praying for me. Who helped bring me up through and through again.

Who has given me not only enough, but more. Thank you Mama, for your never ending love and support and well, you know everything there is to this. Thank you Papa for being the harsh teacher you are and always throwing me in situations that help me grow as a person.

To my sister-in-law, niece and nephews; who had everything to do with this thesis because through observing her breast pumping journey, I was able to

get a first look at what it’s like using the device. And get a good grasp on things.

To kak Syeda for being ever so willing to help me with my projects, providing me access to a breast pump and learning more about her journey through our conversations.

To my siblings and relatives for helping me go through my thesis development by contributing ideas as well as cheering me on throughout my senior year.

To both my roommates who are patient when I come home and start talking about breast pumps that they may or may not understand.. To Adibah for helping me with my video and Hajar for always hearing me talk about my thesis again and again and again...

To all the friends here in the U of I or back home in Malaysia or anywhere in the world. For the kinds wishes and support, be it small or big, it always put a smile on my face to see you care.

And to everyone else involved..

thank you