Mention the 
words “breast pump” to any woman with lactation experience and you might observe everything from a dramatic eye roll to an outright grimace. Recently, while reminiscing with a friend about the good old days of expressing milk (our kids are in high school), we concluded that surely this device had to be invented by a man. A little research, in fact, proved this theory.
In 1854, Orwell H. Needham filed Patent No. 11,135 for the first official breast pump. Engineer, Edward Lasker, invented a mechanical version in the 1920’s. Since then, numerous design improvements have made the experience a bit easier for each generation. This is a good thing when you consider the dread and unease of some women. My own sister-in-law admitted feeling more fearful of the breast pump than childbirth. Of course, it didn’t take long for her to be tugged into the magnificence of motherhood and embrace the pump with all its inconveniences.
Just last week, 150 parents, students, engineers, designers and healthcare providers gathered at the MIT Media Lab for the "Make the Breast Pump Not Suck" contest. Just the name of this project alone suggested promise. Hosted by the MIT Media Lab, the competition, which began last May, challenged ten teams of “brainstormers” to improve current breast pump designs.
Founded in 1985 with an annual operating budget of $45 million dollars, according to its website, the MIT Media Lab “is committed to looking beyond the obvious to ask the questions not yet asked–questions whose answers could radically improve the way people live, learn, express themselves, work, and play.” And “express themselves” took on a whole new meaning as collaborators presented new ideas while competing for prize money.
1st prize was awarded to the “Mighty Mom Utility Belt”, a fashionable, discrete, hands-free wearable pump that automatically logs and analyzes personal data. Team members won $3000 and a trip to Silicon Valley to pitch their ideas to investors.
For details, humorous perspectives and more contest results, we wanted to share the following articles:
Winning Ideas In Contest On "How To Make The Breast Pump Not Suck"
The Moms Behind MIT's Breast Pumping Hackathon
Shouldn't the Breast Pump Be as Elegant as an iPhone and as Quiet as a Prius by Now?
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