Eenie Project

1Laura Morris

eenieA more natural way to weigh breastfed babies.

2 Laura Morris, Copyright © 2009

Introduction

The project has been completed during the f inal year of my Design for Industry BA (Hons) course at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne. The project was intended to demonstrate and bring together the skills that have been acquired during the time on the course and on internships.

This document contains a summary of the problem space and the solution, outlining the benef its of the design. I hope that you enjoy looking through this document and if you have any fur ther questions regarding the design or process, please do not hesitate to contact me.

The project was exhibited at the following graduate shows;

Nor thumbria University Design Graduate Show, 17th June 2009

New Designers, London, 15th July 2009

Laura [email protected](+44) 07828 2799208

eenie

3Laura Morris, Copyright © 2009

The Brief

Babies are currently weighed at regular intervals to ensure that they are developing healthily. Their growth is plotted on a graph within a ‘Baby Health Record’ book that the parent keeps. The majority of weighing occurs in clinics or community centres, in front of other parents and where temperature and hygiene is diff icult to monitor. Mothers who are breastfeeding can experience an especially emotional time under pressure to give their child the best star t in life and ensure that they are fed enough to develop correctly. This can be made worse by unsympathetic equipment and an impersonal growth monitoring system.

Aims and Objectives:

• Improve the experience, making it parent and baby friendly.

• Improve the communication between weighing equipment, parents and health professionals.

• Encourage mothers to breastfeed.

Criteria:• Encourages breast feeding.

• Accurate and easy to read.

• Floor use; safer.

• Not cold to touch.

• Digital.

• Hygienic and easy to clean.

• Inexpensive or to rent

• Educational materials; easy to understand.

• High-tech communication with new parents

• Suitable for different cultures.

• Por table for health visitors and midwives.

The following design objectives, aims and criteria were formulated following extensive research, including interviews with health practitioners and parents.

eenie


A Need to Encourage Breastfeeding It is particularly important to make sure that breastfed babies are thriving because unlike bottlefed babies, parents cannot see how much milk their child has taken.

England has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe.

- The Department of Health

A Need to Improve the Experience Weighing Clinics can cause distress to breastfeeding parents, whose babies grow at a different rate to bottlefed babies.

“You feel like you’re being judged on how you’re well you’re feeding her.”

“Weight gain has been our only reassurance that all is okay as we are exclusively breastfeeding.”

“Parents feel responsible for bringing up a healthy baby; not gaining enough weight can be stressful.”

“Some babies don’t like being weighed. They wriggle and hit their head on the hard plastic.”

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Emotions PhysicalProduct

The User

Distress

Worry

Not involved

Protection

Pressure

Hard

Cold

Heavy

Unhygienic

Clinical

eenie improves the experience of weighing babies when breastfeeding by enabling parents to weigh their baby in a relaxed and familiar environment; their home. They still have the suppor t of their health visitor when they need it, as well as the added benef it of access to the eenie babies online community.

eenie


Supports and Protects

Contoured bed supports baby’s body and slightly props them up so that they can look around. It protects baby from rolling out onto the f loor and makes weighing easier.

Warm and Soft

Polyurethane foam bed feels soft and warm against baby’s skin. They will be content for longer making weighing easier and less distressing for baby and parent.

Promotes Bonding

Orientation of the scale means that parent kneels at the base and has eye contact with their child. Babies love looking at faces, so they will stay still and entertained for longer.

eenie is a more natural experience:

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Lightweight and Compact

Slim, compact, lightweight form for easy portability.

Simple to Use

Simple, intuitive user interface is easy to use so that it does not become a distraction from baby. Power button, clear reading button and automatic shut off after 5 minutes of no pressure.

Clean and Hygienic

The smooth form means few dirt traps making it easy to clean. Antimicrobial additives contained in the polymer helps to keep the scale bacteria free.

eenie is a more practical experience:

eenie


“I’m having problems breastfeeding Harry and I’m worried he’s not growing properly!”

“I think you should try eenie weighing to see how Harry is growing and to guide you through breastfeeding.”

“Ooh look how cute it is, like a little egg! I can’t wait to see how you look laying on it Harry!”

“Now let’s see how this thing works Harry. Doesn’t look diff icult.”

“I’ll weigh Harry before and after this feed to get an idea of how much he’s taking.”

“I don’t mind taking your clothes off to lay on here, it’s nice and soft unlike the ones in the cold church hall!”

“Hello Harry, watch me pull faces at you! Good boy for staying still!”

“Gurgle gurgle!”

“I’ll pop this on my keys.”

Vicky and Harry’s Experience with eenie

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“I’ll quickly and automatically transfer this reading for later.”

“I’ll push this under the cot so it won’t be in the way.”

“Harry’s f irst eenie reading on his very own prof ile!”

“Please can I take a look at Harry’s weight records Mrs Wood?”

“It looks like this breastfeeding counsellor might be able to answer my question...”

“I’m really happy and comfortable with breastfeeding now thanks to eenie

“I think Harry’s okay to be weighed less often now, you can still access the community and use the software though.”

“I’m here to collect the weighing scales, Mrs Wood.”

u u u

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Easy, Tactile and Portable

Small eenie data pen enables the parents to transfer weight measurements from the scale and automatically plot growth patterns on their computer, share it with their health visitor and take to medical appointments.

Personalise Records

Software stores health practitioner’s details and takes into account other factors affecting growth, such as ethnic background and parent height.

Plots Growth

Plots growth patterns against new percentiles for breastfed babies only to give accuracy. View dates of specif ic measurements, automatically highlights abnormal patterns and sends for health visitor’s opinion.

Monitoring Growtheenie


New mothers who are breastfeeding and need reassurance can loan the weighing scale from the NHS through their health visitor.

Currently, the NHS is calling for more health visitors and better organisation of their time.

- Families and Parents Institute

This service would ensure that time is used more eff iciently for those who need it most and put parents in touch with people who can answer their questions.

The Serviceeenie


New, breastfeeding mother

Diff iculties

Contacts Health Visitor

Health Visitor

Loaned from PCT

Details recorded in database.

Pregnant woman

Prenatal Classes

Delivered to HomeDelivered to Hom Instructions in written and video form.

Can weigh before and after feed.

Creates comparisons.

Records data on software. Health visitor, peers and

breastfeeding counsellor.

Online community for breastfeeding mothers.

Visits from health visitor.

User encouraged to carry out regular cleaning.

Mother feels conf ident and comfor table with

breastfeeding.

Contacts Health Visitor

Health Visitor checks to see if eenie is still required.

eenie is collected and returned to clinical engineers.

Checked, decontaminated, callibrated and data wiped.

User keeps data stick and software.

Distributed to new user.

Awareness

Target User

Decision to Loan Delivery Use

Support

User Maintenance

Reaches Goal

ReturnedTechnical Maintenance

New User

Start

eenie service cycle

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eenie scale features:

1. Durable polymer shell.2. Closed cell foam bed for comfort and hygiene.3. Extra comfortable bottom cushion.4. Contoured shape for ultimate comfort and support.5. Low prof ile for stability and safety.6. Grab anywhere edge.7. Sealed edges to protect internal components.8. Simple, intuitive control panel.9. Data transfer point with waterproof plug.10. Screws allow for easy disassembly.11. Recessed product information area. Includes; data reset button, scale identifcation number and product classif ications.

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1. Membrane switch panel is easy to clean and waterproof.2. Waterproof rocker switch for choice of units.3. Screw on carpet feet for use on carpet.4. USB for transferring data to computer.

eenie scale features:

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Simple Controls

Eenie’s interface is easy for parents to use and understand. It contains a simple power button and clear button, which can be used to clear the current reading or subtract the weight of baby accessories also on the scale.

Comparison of Weights

The current weight can be directly compared to the last weight to give an instant idea of how baby has grown or even how much breast milk she has taken during a feed.

Feedback

Feedback is displayed by using f lashing weighing scale symbol indicates weighing in progress, as well as low battery warning symbol and ‘transferring’ to indicate a reading passed from the scale to the eenie data pen.

eenie interface features:

eenie

7.62 kg. 7.81 kg.

New Weight

Last Weight

Transferring

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HelloThank you for choosing to weigh with Eenie Weighing Scales for breastfed babies.

Eenie Aims to make the experience of weighing your baby enjoyable , engaging and comfor table for both of you. Make sure your baby growing and thriving in a relaxed and familiar environment, your home.

You can still gain the suppor t you need from your midwife or health visitor when you need it, as well as the added benef it of access to the Eenie Babies online community.

Watch how your baby grows using easy to understand software on your computer that enables your baby’s health records to be unique and personal to them.

Now weighing your baby can be;

Enjoyable,Comfor table,Reassuring,Natural andEasy

Eenie Project

Documents

Transcript of Eenie Project