Idea
LatchAid is an easy-to-use app which aims to help mums and mums-to-be to learn and improve their latching on skills in the comfort of their own environment. It gives individualised support to help them to carry on breastfeeding for as long as possible.
LatchAid utilises the state-of-art 3D scanning, motion adaptation, and augmented reality technologies to create a personalised breastfeeding animation using the 3D scanned shapes of their own breast and baby’s face. It helps mums to self-diagnose their latching-on attachment and to visualise a virtual baby latching-on her breast without practising with a real baby.
LatchAid aims to provides a platform for breastfeeding mums and mums-to-be everywhere to connect and support each other through an online user forum/community and shared knowledge base and to connect with a network of breastfeeding professionals for solutions to breastfeeding issues.
People
Lead entrepreneur: Dr Chen Mao Davies
LatchAid founder Dr Chen Mao Davies holds a PhD in Computer Graphics and has 15 years R&D, software design, development, support experience in academia and industry. She spent the past 6 years working in a world-class R&D team to create stunning visual effects for Oscar-winning movies, including Gravity and Blade Runner.
Chen is a mum of 2 young children and had first-hand experience as a once-struggled but later successful breastfeeding mum. Her personal experience inspires her to develop a high-tech yet easy-to-use app to help other mums to persevere and continue breastfeeding. Chen is currently seeking a co-founder who shares the common passion to build and develop LatchAid business together.
LatchAid is still at its early development stage and we would welcome someone with talent in software development, 3D asset creation, graphics/web design, marketing or PR to join the journey of building LatchAid together.
Impact
LatchAid aims to help some of the 700,000 mums in the UK and 300 million mums globally every year to learn and improve their latching-on skills for breastfeeding.
LatchAid aims to help mums to reduce the pain and risks of nipple damage, mastitis and thrush caused by incorrect latching. Research shows that breastfeeding lowers mums’ risks of various diseases and improves their bonding with babies. Correct latching helps babies to get more breast milk, which protects them from infections and diseases and has various long-term benefits that formula-milk cannot provide.
LatchAid has will have wide-ranging impact: from reducing costs associated with formula-milk to reducing the cost to the NHS in treating mums and babies. It can also bring long-term social and ecological benefits (eg healthier and brighter children, reduced pollution of manufacturing, packaging, and shipping of formula milk since breast milk is a naturally renewable resource) to the society.
Get in touch
LatchAid is keen to build partnerships with breastfeeding professionals, public/private health providers, governmental and non-governmental organisations, charities, websites, bloggers, and influencers who share the same passion of supporting mums and their families to breastfeed. LatchAid is also looking for potential investors and fund providers to support its work. Furthermore, LatchAid would love to hear from families, volunteers, and early adopters for software design, development, and evaluation.
News about LatchAid
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Venturing forth: LatchAid – Supporting and empowering mothers and families
Computer graphics expert supported by the Cambridge Social Ventures programme at Cambridge Judge has developed an app to help women breastfeed.
Four entrepreneurs connected to Cambridge Judge Business School have been awarded the Innovate UK Women in Innovation award. This year 40 female entrepreneurs were selected for the Awards and will receive a one-year tailored package of financial support and mentoring.
Looking at the ways in which the synergies between our various programmes and Centres make a difference.