Dentsu’s Father’s Nursing Assistant: A Wearable Feeder for Dads

Originally published 2021-02-22.

A Wearable Feeding Device Presented in Japan

The Father's Nursing Assistant is a wearable feeding device created by the Japanese advertising and communications group Dentsu. Worn on the chest like a soft breast-shaped shell, it holds milk in a small tank and lets a baby feed from a teat while the father cradles the child in a nursing position. Dentsu showed it at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2019.

Headlines described it as a gadget that lets men breastfeed. That is a stretch. The device does not make anyone produce milk; it delivers expressed breast milk or formula, much like a bottle, but in a more body-like way. It was also shown as a concept prototype, not a product in shops. Here is what it does, why it was designed, how it compares with a separate idea for male lactation, and what parents can take from the debate.

How the device works

According to Dentsu, the wearable has a milk tank on one side and the feeding mechanism on the other. The father holds the baby with both arms, close to his chest, so the child gets skin contact and warmth during a feed, as it would during breastfeeding. Early press reports added that the device warms the milk and that the teat only releases milk when the baby sucks.

A companion smartphone app tracks feeding and the moment the baby falls asleep, giving parents a log of the baby's patterns. Dentsu developed the concept with Ginger Design Studio and the engineering firm Apex.

Why Dentsu designed it

Dentsu's explanation focused on sleep and on sharing the work of night feeds. The company noted that babies in Japan sleep less on average than those in many other countries, and that much of the stress of early parenthood centres on feeding and getting a baby to sleep. Fathers' involvement in childcare in Japan has historically been low compared with many other wealthy nations.

Because feeding at the breast often settles a baby to sleep, that calming effect has traditionally been tied to mothers. Dentsu said its aim was "to decrease the amount of burden on mothers" and help babies sleep longer by letting fathers take over some feeds in a similar position.

The device appeared at SXSW alongside three other Dentsu projects, including a 3D-printed sushi concept, under an exhibition theme called "Pointless Brings Progress". The idea was that objects whose usefulness is not yet obvious can point to the future. That framing suggests the nursing assistant was meant to start a conversation as much as to reach the market.

(The Instagram post originally embedded here is no longer available.)

What it can and cannot do

It is worth being clear about the limits:

It does not cause lactation. The milk comes from a tank, filled with expressed breast milk or formula.
Nutritionally it equals bottle feeding. Whatever milk is in the tank is what the baby gets, with the same benefits as that milk from a bottle.
The closeness is real but not unique. Fathers can already hold a baby skin to skin and feed with a bottle, which also supports bonding.
Hygiene matters. Any feeding equipment needs thorough cleaning and sterilising; a more complex device has more parts to clean.

Single fathers, same-sex male couples, adoptive parents and families where the mother cannot breastfeed could all find a design like this appealing. Whether it offers enough over a bottle to justify the cost is a question only a finished product could answer.

The chestfeeding kit: a different, riskier idea

Around the same time, British designer Marie-Claire Springham, a product design graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, presented a concept she called a chestfeeding kit. Instead of a milk tank, it aims to make a father's body produce milk.

As described in design magazine Dezeen in March 2019, the plan was for the father to take progestin, a hormone found in some contraceptive pills, through the pregnancy to prepare breast tissue, then start the drug domperidone about six weeks before the birth to trigger milk production. A pump and a compression vest would complete the kit. Springham said the project began as conceptual design, inspired by research on new parents' mental health and the pressure many mothers feel to breastfeed.

The medical caveats are significant. The US Food and Drug Administration has never approved domperidone for any use, and in 2004 it warned breastfeeding women not to use it to increase milk supply because of reports of serious heart rhythm problems, cardiac arrest and sudden death, mostly with an intravenous form. No country has approved it for boosting milk. Springham said medical trials would be needed before any kit could go on sale. Anyone curious about inducing lactation, for any reason, should talk to a doctor rather than trying medicines on their own.

What experts say about breastfeeding and fathers

The World Health Organization recommends starting breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months, and continuing alongside other foods up to two years or beyond. Breast milk contains antibodies that help protect babies against many common childhood illnesses, and breastfeeding lowers mothers' risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Fathers make a big difference to whether those goals are met, even without any device. Partners who support breastfeeding help mothers continue for longer. Practical ways to share the load include:

Taking over nappy changes, burping and settling after night feeds.
Giving one feed of expressed milk, once breastfeeding is established, so the mother can sleep a longer stretch.
Holding the baby skin to skin, which calms babies and builds the father's own bond.
Handling meals, housework and visitors in the early weeks.
Watching for signs of exhaustion or low mood in either parent and seeking help early.

Where things stand

The Father's Nursing Assistant drew global attention, but there is no sign it became a widely sold product. Its lasting value may be the question it raised: how to let both parents share the most demanding parts of a newborn's care. For now, a bottle, a willing partner and good support for breastfeeding mothers do much of what the gadget promised.