From 6 October 2021, infant feeding specialists, midwives, and health visitors will be prescribing the premium version of the LatchAid app for free to all new mums who are iOS users in select NHS regions.
The participating regions are South Devon & Torbay, Lancashire & South Cumbria, Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon & Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire – if you or someone you know is about to have a baby and lives in one of these regions, please ask your healthcare provider for more information about getting the app for free.
This is part of a four-month pilot project where we hope to assess the effectiveness of the app in increasing breastfeeding rates in the participating areas. Our dream is that one day soon every new parent who wants to breastfeed is prescribed this app, which can currently be purchased for £9.99 per month, for free.
The LatchAid app uses a combination of cutting-edge 3D technology, Artificial Intelligence, virtual peer support groups, 1-1 expert consultations, and expert webinars to help women learn breastfeeding skills and provide them with personalised expertise and support in infant-feeding, infant-care, and maternal health on a 24/7 basis.
We know that LatchAid is a much needed product. We have already beta tested our product with over 1,000 people in 20 countries across six continents. Early user studies indicate that over 70% of mothers increased their breastfeeding confidence and skills in just four weeks, and over 80% of mothers and healthcare professionals said they would recommend LatchAid to friends, family and clients. Since its app store launch LatchAid has attracted over 1500 app downloads around the globe, including over 200 downloads within the first 24 hours. It reached No. 46 on the Apple App Store’s medical category, a phenomenal success as there are over 300,000 health apps available in app stores.
The UK has the worst breastfeeding rate in the world. 81% of mothers choose to breastfeed their babies; however, despite the great benefits breastfeeding offers to mothers, babies and society, the exclusive breastfeeding rate plummets from 81% to only 1% within the first six month of the baby’s life. 90% of those who stop breastfeeding in the early days do so before they want to. New mothers stop breastfeeding because of pain and health issues caused by incorrect latching and lack of appropriate support. We are passionate about changing this. We believe every mother deserves the support and empowerment to give their child the best start in life.
This project is funded through Q Exchange by the Health Foundation and NHS England and NHS Improvement.
