Breastfeeding Is Beautiful. Let's Make It Easier!

Juan Chen

Founder, LacTeck | Inventor, BabyMotion Flange and SleepyMommy Adapter

When my daughter, Helen, was born in 2015, I was thrown into the world of exclusive pumping due to constant, unbearable pain with latching. I soon realized that for any mother who travels or works, the existing pumping technology is fundamentally flawed and terrifyingly unreliable.

I experienced the ultimate breakdown after an exhausting 18-hour international flight. My breasts were painfully engorged—they felt hard as rocks. All I could think about was the relief of that first pump. Finally in my hotel room, around 1 AM, I plugged in the device... and the entire room plunged into pitch black silence. The pump had short-circuited.

For half an hour, I was trapped: alone, in the dark, with a body screaming in pain, certain my breasts were going to burst. After the technician restored the power, my useless pump forced me to manually express for two agonizing hours.

In that moment of sheer desperation, I made a vow. This systemic failure had to end. I decided to create dependable, stress-free lactation technologies that I desperately needed, ensuring that millions of future mothers—including my own daughter—will never have to face that crippling, preventable pain.

Katherine Hornbostel

Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh | Inventor, Pump2Baby Bottle

In 2013, when I had my twin sons (Nick & Ben), I chose to exclusively pump due to latching problems. Pumping was a full-time job. I would pump, store the milk, bottle feed my sons, clean the bottles, and repeat this whole process every 2-3 hours from morning to night. The memories of hurrying to pump while Nick & Ben screamed at the top of their lungs in hunger across the room was so traumatic that I said to myself, “there must be a better way to feed my babies while pumping!”.

As a PhD mechanical engineering student at MIT, I began brainstorming engineering solutions to this problem, which resulted in a prototype for the Pump2Baby Bottle.
Juan, another MIT mom who experienced similar challenges, was excited about the prototype and decided to create this amazing product. We believe the Pump2Baby Bottle will alleviate the stress of pumping and save mothers 180 hours (yes, as nerds, we calculated it!) to bond with their babies, or actually sleep.