Babyation: Sleek, modern breast pump for the modern mom

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ever since.

“We moved here thinking it was a six-week thing while we looked for a house,” said Miller, who grew up in Syracuse, N.Y. “That was six years ago.

“Honestly, it’s very enabling. That was part of the calculus when we moved here. This is a good city for entrepreneurs, but it’s also where we’ve got family and a support network.”

Rudolph added, laughing: “It’s very nice to have built-in babysitters, though we try not to take advantage of that. But it’s a house filled with love and laughter. And the relationship our kids have with my parents is phenomenal for each one of them.”

Their baby: A new breast pump is born

The couple spent more than six years raising capital; creating, building and modifying the design; securing patents and FDA approval, manufacturing and office space, and everything else that goes into building a revolutionary new breast pump.

Then about a year ago, the Pump by Babyation launched with a price of $499. If that seems expensive, consider that almost immediately, the Babyation pump amassed a 4,500-person waitlist.

“Generally speaking, we have not been able to keep up with the demand,” said Rudolph, who serves as the company’s CEO while Miller is CTO (chief technical officer). “Our big focus this past year was how to improve efficiency and fulfill the needs of the demand.”

Since the pump and the app used to control it are considered medical devices, both required FDA approval and other regulatory measures.

In addition, Rudolph say, there was that pesky matter of the pandemic when “everything moved slower and some of the logistics became more difficult.”

Nearly 30 patents worldwide are attached to the pump, including ones for how the device looks, the breast shield and the method of using the system.

“The way we’re doing this is fairly unique,” Miller said. “There is not another product that looks like ours. The way we move milk through tubes doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. There’s a lot to protect here.”

So how does it work?

The Pump by Babyation is essentially an all-in-one portable carrier that includes a cooling system to preserve the milk, an ultraquiet motor and bottle storage. To pump, a nursing mom slips small silicone breast shields inside her bra and connects them to two tubes which in turn, are connected to the bottles in the carrier. An accompanying app allows the mom to regulate the speed and suction of the milk as its pumped, see how much has been expressed, and auto matically start and stop the process, among other functions.

When pumping is done, the tubes, which need to be replaced daily for safety reasons, are stored in their own bag within the carrier system until the next pumping ses sion. All of this can be done discreetly and com

STRONGER BONES, HEALTHIER LIFE: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PREVENTING AND MANAGING OSTEOPOROSIS

By: Dr Beth Templin PT DPT GCS Geriatrics Physical Therapist

If you've recently been told that you have osteoporosis or osteopenia, it s tempting to brush it off as a "normal" part of aging You may think that because everyone your age seems to be having the same trouble as you that it's something you will have to learn to live with You may not know how to live with this new diagnosis, but now you're worried about breaking a bone You ve even started to limit what you're willing to do, in order to protect your fragile bones If this is happening to you, you're not alone We hear these types of things all the time In fact, Osteoporosis is one of the most common problems we see at HouseFit Most people realize that their osteoporosis or osteopenia won't magically go away on its own but they still don't take action It might be because they don t know what steps to take to improve their bone density OR they don't truly believe they can improve their bone health "at their age" Fortunately there are several options to help manage and even reverse your osteoporosis and to keep you active as you age

It s critical to educate yourself on osteoporosis, its causes, and the best treatments currently available It’s why we’ve created our comprehensive guide “Osteoporosis: A Guide To Building Stronger Bones”

In this guide you'll find:

● What really impacts your bone health

● What diet best supports healthy bones

● The top exercises for strong bones

● Why inactivity increases bone loss

● AND much more!

I want to make this guide available to you absolutely free of charge! To claim your copy, simply call (314) 939-1377 or visit our website housefitstl com/bone-health to download the report directly to your computer fortably so a nursing mom can keep her top on while she pumps and go about her daily activities.

If you’re ready to manage your bone health and lead an active lifestyle, this guide can help you get started with confidence!

“We always felt that a woman should be able to use a breast pump without the world around them knowing,” said Rudolph. “That means I can keep my shirt on and there is no dead giveaway. That means an easy way to tell how much milk has been expressed. That means an app on my phone where I can conveniently control the pumping process.”

Rudolph is explaining all of this at Babyation’s headquarters, a 10,000- square-foot warehouse and office space in Maryland Heights where the pumps are manufactured and shipped by a core team of 13 employees, the majority of them women.

“We didn’t think we’d be able to do this in St. Louis, but there has been such a growth in manufacturing here,” she said. “We are seeing much better capabilities here now than even a few years ago.”

As an Entrepreneur in Residence at Washington University’s Skandalaris Center and a mentor for Stadia Ventures, a global sports accelerator and venture fund headquartered in Webster Groves, Rudolph is also working directly with burgeoning business leaders and entrepreneurs. Often when she speaks to them, she offers a little advice.

“I tell them they have to know why they are doing what they are doing because they’re going to have some really bad days, no matter how successful they were or will be,” she said. “So the most important thing you need is the ‘why.’ For us, our north star has always been the moms and to be able to make a difference with something that is so hard and important at a unique time in their lives. To be able to make one little piece easier is everything.”

For more information about Babyation, visit babyation.com.