New parents often struggle with a huge problem — transitioning their babies between breastfeeding and bottles. A Charlotte startup named mōmi is working to help end that problem through technology, ultimately making life easier for moms and their infants.
The local company develops an innovative infant feeding system and breast pumps that mimic natural breastfeeding to help eliminate nipple confusion, bottle refusal, regurgitation and frustration for new mothers. Mōmi differs from other bottle-tech companies because it wasn't designed to just imitate the look of breasts, but instead replicate the flow of breastmilk, said Hal Eason, CEO and co-founder.
He said the startup's bottles have pacing built in, which allows babies to eat more slowly to closely imitate breastfeeding. That technique helps prevent choking, overfeeding and enables infants to take breaks — unlike many conventional bottles.
"Everything we're doing is based on this core belief that nature is the gold standard of design, and that if we can replicate the way nature works, then we can solve these big problems for moms and babies," Eason said.
Mōmi was created by Carr Lane Quackenbush, who led the U.S. division of Medela, a global breast pump manufacturer, until retiring in 2011. Quackenbush believed that the industry had not yet brought to market an infant feeding system or breast pump that replicated natural nursing.
From 2011 to 2019, he began researching and developing new ideas that would solve mothers' struggle with either bottle refusal or rejection to breastfeeding after being introduced to a bottle — which is often referred to as nipple confusion. After nearly a decade in the making, he finished innovating a solution to address those issues, formed the mōmi team in 2020 and brought the company's products to market last year.
Addressing a decades-long issue
Mōmi is working to reduce a problem that has existed for decades. Roughly 60% of mothers in the U.S. do not breastfeed for as long as they intend to, which is influenced by numerous factors such as issues with latching, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Eason said when a baby develops symptoms of nipple confusion, it can be an emotionally devastating experience for the mother to lose that bonding with her baby months earlier than she anticipated.
"When the baby is accustomed to nursing, and then a bottle is introduced, the bottle doesn't work in the same way that nursing does," he said. "The baby has to learn a new way of feeding."
He said if the infant rejects the bottle, the mom can also be left to breastfeed the baby months longer than planned. That could require mothers to stay up to feed their infants at odd times of the night. That not only provides a frustrating experience for mothers, but for fathers or other family members who can feel secluded from the experience of feeding the baby.
"The dad wants to bond with the baby in that way, but if the baby won't take a bottle, then it's a painful experience for the whole family system," Eason said.
Mōmi is also working to commercialize a breast pump that is made with a silicon liner, making it a more comfortable experience than a traditional breast pump, Eason said. The startup aims to launch that product within the next few years.
"We're hearing from specialists who are actually saying that the mōmi bottle was helping to reestablish and restore a breastfeeding relationship with a mom," Eason said. "That exceeds our wildest expectations."
