Understanding Breastfeeding Success Using Smart Devices
Enhancing Breastfeeding Outcomes through Digital Phenotyping
This project uses smart devices to understand how a mother's lifestyle before and after birth affects her breastfeeding journey.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northeastern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11140973 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project aims to understand the many factors that influence breastfeeding success by using everyday smart devices. We will gather information from smartphones and smartwatches to learn about a mother's sleep, exercise, mood, and daily activities during her third trimester and after birth. By collecting this information passively and through short surveys, we hope to identify key lifestyle patterns that help or hinder breastfeeding. This deeper understanding can lead to better support for new mothers and their babies.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: This project is looking for mothers in their third trimester who are planning to breastfeed and are willing to use smart devices to share lifestyle information.
Not a fit: Patients who are not pregnant or are not planning to breastfeed would not directly benefit from participating in this specific research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to personalized support and interventions that help more mothers achieve their breastfeeding goals and improve child health.
How similar studies have performed: While digital tools are increasingly used in health research, this specific approach to comprehensively link digital phenotyping during the third trimester to breastfeeding outcomes is a novel area of exploration.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Northeastern University — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sathyanarayana, Aarti — Northeastern University
- Study coordinator: Sathyanarayana, Aarti
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.