Breakthrough for Nursing Moms as Israeli Startup Measures How Much Milk Baby Drinks

What nursing mother hasn’t worried that her baby isn't getting enough milk or wondered, especially before she gets the hang of it, if any milk is coming out of her at all?

A new Israeli invention could put those concerns to rest.

MilkSense allows a nursing mother to measure exactly how much her baby has taken in at each feeding and how much milk she has in each breast at any given time. MilkSense is the first product from Israeli startup Bradley and Luka, founded by lawyer and businessman Assaf Nachum.

To operate, a mother places the device on each breast for 10 seconds, both before and after each feeding, to measure, in milliliters, exactly how much milk the baby drank and how much milk remains in her breasts.

The device, which does not touch the baby at all, uses electromagnetic signals to measure the volume of the breast alveoli – a component of the mammary gland – and based on this information, determines the amount of milk in the breast. The information is stored in the device so the baby's intake can be monitored.

Nachum said the idea for the device was born out of a conversation he had with a friend whose wife was concerned their baby wasn't getting enough milk through breastfeeding.  MilkSense has been in development, he said, for three years.

The device is marketed by Bfree, a local company that manufactures and markets baby products. It comes in a kit that includes a portable scale for monitoring the baby’s weight gain and a computer program for documenting and following the baby’s eating patterns and development.

The kit, which will be available at various stores around the country begining on May 1, costs NIS 700.

Within a few months of being launched in Israel, Nachum said, MilkSense will also be sold overseas.