LatchAid: Modernising breastfeeding support services to help mothers and babies breastfeed during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond

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Breastfeeding support services in the UK are patchy, under-funded, and predominantly rely on face-to-face delivery, which is now paralysed by the Covid-19 pandemic due to social distancing measures. Millions of mothers and babies are isolated at home and suffering in silence when they experience breastfeeding issues. Research shows that 90% of mothers give up breastfeeding before they want to. Among them over 60% are due to pain and health issues (i.e. cracked nipples, breast infection) caused by incorrect latching (how the baby fastens onto the breast) and the lack of appropriate support.Using digital solutions to deliver breastfeeding support is urgently needed. This project provides the platform to achieve this gradually during six months. LatchAid's Beta mobile app contains 3D interactive breastfeeding animations, breastfeeding support chat rooms, and infant-feeding FAQs. It has already been commended as a much-needed, revolutionary innovation by users in 10 different countries across 6 continents. This funding will scale our reach and fast track the development of three additional features, tailor-made in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. They enable the delivery of digital breastfeeding support at scale: (1) Virtual breastfeeding support groups; (2) A virtual breastfeeding supporter (3) Interactive expert webinars. Powered by Artificial Intelligence, our virtual support groups foster a scalable and accessible ecosystem where mothers can learn breastfeeding skills and connect with others for vital peer-to-peer and professional support anywhere, anytime. The virtual breastfeeding supporter chatbot enables us to support millions of users globally 24/7\. We are passionate about improving the breastfeeding outcome and women's feeling of self-efficacy, which will in turn bring substantial benefits to the families and society.Breastfeeding organisations and professionals severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic can resume service delivery through our platform. In the short term our objective is to support the UK mothers who are struggling with breastfeeding now. In the long term our mission is to enable the mothers of 800,000 babies born in the UK and 140,000,000 babies born worldwide every year to easily access reliable and trustworthy information and support with their breastfeeding needs.The Extension for Impact funding will allow us to exploit the R&D outcome of this project and deliver the LatchAid product to both B2C and B2B markets. During the project extension, we are planning to conduct an open Beta testing, launch the LatchAid app at AppStore, and start to pilot the LatchAid app among expectant and new mothers at three NHS trusts (including Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, Torbay & South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals) to explore opportunities of integrating LatchAid solutions into their antenatal and postnatal care systems.