from FemTech World, 16th January 2023
The breastfeeding support app LatchAid has rebranded to become Anya, aiming to reach more parents across the globe.
The developers say the rebrand will allow the app to expand its scope beyond breastfeeding to the first 1,001 days of parenthood, helping families to overcome a much broader range of challenges in line with the UK Government’s A Better Start in Life initiative.
The LatchAid name will live on as the 3D interactive animation tool coaches in the app.
Anya aims to empower new parents to get access to support and information and allow healthcare professionals to provide continuity of care, bridging the gap between antenatal and postnatal care.
The company says the app has benefitted from a complete redesign and redevelopment to provide clear visual learning for latching.
Other components will offer articles, videos, webinars, and content to parents across the whole pregnancy, parenting and infant feeding spectrum while virtual community groups have been expanded.
After proving that the app can double the average exclusive breastfeeding rate postnatally at six-eight weeks in a recent NHS Pilot, the team have worked on bringing the new app to market, partnering with a number of Integrated Care Systems and NHS Trusts.
According to the company’s data, the app is already proving its worth in selected Integrated Care Systems, supporting continuity of care, improved patient outcomes, cost of care reductions and bridges the breastfeeding support inequalities gap.
LatchAid has recently won the coveted SBRI Healthcare funding competition to develop additional features and content in the app to tackle healthcare inequalities in maternity care.
This project will be co-developed with key NHS partners, along with groups of parents in target demographics to address health inequalities and support underserved communities while improving wider breastfeeding rates.
“It’s been so exciting to see my baby LatchAid grow up into Anya, on both iOS and Android,” said Dr Chen Mao Davies, LatchAid founder and CEO.
“We know how important access to evidence-based information and support has already been to new parents via the app. We look forward to reaching many more families inclusively with our SBRI Healthcare funding.”
