The Willow 3.0 in-bra breast pump is designed to help breastfeeding parents get on with their life while pumping, and its latest new feature adds an extra level of convenience: a companion app for the Apple Watch. The app lets you switch modes, control suction and track your sessions without having to fiddle with the pump itself or pick up your phone. That doesn’t sound particularly earth-shattering, but in case you didn’t know, I’ll let you in on a little secret: Breast pumping is horrible, and anything that makes it a little less horrible is a godsend.
For much of recent history, using a breast pump meant that every few hours you stopped everything you were doing to be tethered to a bowling ball-sized device plugged into an electrical outlet. But in recent years, in-bra pumps like Willow have started popping up — small, self-contained, battery-powered, and designed to be used hands-free. They’re especially useful if you want to do, oh, I don’t know, literally anything longer than three hours outside your house without having to run home to pump.
In-bra pumps are also useful in many more situations, allowing you to get things done around the house or if your workplace doesn’t offer a private room to pump. They’re designed for convenience, and with controls on your wrist, that convenience is extended a bit further.
Unfortunately, the technology isn’t exactly accessible to most people. Willow 3.0 starts at $549, and while U.S. health insurance companies are required to cover the cost of breast pumps for new parents, they usually only cover the full cost of a basic model. Not to mention an Apple Watch that starts at $249, that is about the same as a three month supply of diapers. If that kind of expense is out of your budget, you’re probably stuck next to an outlet for your pumping sessions anyway.
