While the recommended breastfeeding duration is 6 months, Black infants are, on average, breastfed for shorter periods, which can have long-term health effects on the mother & child.
Opportunity
The Benten Technologies team builds digital healthcare solutions and sought to use their research on breastfeeding disparities in Black communities to develop a digital health intervention. They needed a UX perspective to organize their findings in a way that supports longer breastfeeding durations for Black families.
Results and Impact
As lead designer, I collaborated with 2 other designers, a project manager, and 2 principal investigators (PI).
We designed a high-fidelity prototype that maintained compliance with the study protocol and built upon existing research about Black maternal health disparities.
The client loved our work, especially the interaction design. This MVP is projected to be used to secure grants and for testing in clinical research with users, contributing to ongoing research work in this area.
*Parts of the solution will be left out due to an NDA.
DEFINING GOALS
Why Should We Design a Mobile App?
The client approached us wanting to build a prototype of a mobile app to improve the rate of breastfeeding among Black mothers.
I worked with the project manager to understand their reasoning and to identify the key goals of the project.
Their team conducted a mixed-method study on mobile health technologies as an intervention to promote breastfeeding in Black communities.
They concluded that a mobile application could be a potential solution and had synthesized components and content that proved effective.
RESEARCH
What Does the Research Say?
To familiarize ourselves with this area of study, the client provided us with their published research. I learned that there are many barriers to breastfeeding, including medical inequity, lack of social support, and the history of slavery and wet nursing.
Supporting breastfeeding initiation was frequently brought up as a way to increase rates so it was something I wanted to explore with users.
To shift from a theoretical headspace to a practical one, we conducted 5 user interviews with first and second-time Black mothers to understand their experiences and plans for breastfeeding.
Key Themes
MAKING DECISIONS
What Are Our Design Priorities?
Breastfeeding is a priority for mothers during pregnancy, and in an ideal scenario, they would follow through with their plans. However, other factors often deter them from sticking to breastfeeding for the full six months. Since systemic issues lack simple solutions, our focus had to be on building confidence.
- Present information in a way that makes breastfeeding more accessible and empowers mothers to advocate for themselves.
- Guide breastfeeding through the various life changes that occur during the first six months.
- Promote a safe space for mothers to connect and find support.
IDEATING
How Do We Organize the Content?
The client provided us with a list of evidence-backed resources, such as health indicators for breastfeeding success.
I used this material to brainstorm how the information should be organized and presented based on our design goals.
Promoting Engagement Prenatal - Postnatal
Based on our research, I proposed that the user begin their journey with the app before the baby is born, to create a breastfeeding plan and ask questions to experts or other pregnant women.
During the six-month breastfeeding period, monitoring relevant health data can help detect potential issues early and know what information to share with doctors, promoting early intervention.
During this entire journey, users may want to connect with others who are also pregnant to feel validated in their experiences.
DESIGNS
What is the Solution?
With our features and user journey in mind, we first created grayscale wireframes. Due to time constraints, we decided to focus on building the structure of the screens and organizing the information, leaving the written content to the stakeholders, as that was their area of expertise.
Homepage-prenatal
I designed a daily trivia feature to educate users about breastfeeding in a fun way that requires little cognitive resources, while also motivating families to engage with the app.
Homepage-postnatal
We designed the homepage functionality to adapt slightly after childbirth to meet the family's new needs.
Tracking becomes the priority, with data displayed as simple, non-technical bar graphs. The question of the day remains a lower priority, offering occasional refreshers for those interested.
Building the Design System
Using our designs, we consolidated the components and style elements to create a design system with usage guidelines in Framer, which we handed off to the client along with the prototype.
Reflection
Challenges
Throughout the process, we had to share everything we were working on like interview scripts and notes for approval to maintain compliance with the study protocol. This slowed down some of our work but I was able to organize all materials in a way that made it efficient to share with the client team.
This was my first time using Framer for prototyping so I had a very short time to learn the software and integrate it with Figma. I found that Framer worked well for presenting interactions and animations and working with developers so I am glad that I have that in my toolkit for future projects.
What If…
Many factors beyond anyone’s control can alter breastfeeding plans. Since this was the first iteration, we had to design the solution for the 'ideal' situation. Providing alternatives if the mother is unable to breastfeed could be interesting to explore in the future
I would have loved to provide a more inclusive product experience by including people other than cisgender women who experience breastfeeding challenges during the research and design process as their experience will likely be different and require additional or alternative solutions.
“Thank you for making sure all the client's needs were met. We love how you brought in ideas based on research, interviews, and making it user-specific.” -Project Manager
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