How we developed the bbhugme Nursing Pillow

Ariana Hendrix

June 15, 2021

How we developed the bbhugme Nursing Pillow

We talked to Hilde Tavares and Ann Kristin Homdrum, both bbhugme founders, experienced Norwegian chiropractors, and busy moms, on the thought and innovation that went into the bbhugme Nursing Pillow. The two founders shared their insight, advice, and experience from years of taking care of pregnant women, new moms, and babies in their clinics.

Q: Where and when was the idea for the bbhugme Nursing Pillow born?

Hilde: We didn’t set out to create a series of products or a business when we started out. Our ‘original idea’ – the bbhugme Pregnancy Pillow was initially just called the ‘bbhugme Pillow’ – a second product wasn’t even on the horizon then.

The pregnancy pillow was multi-functional from the start – something that has always been a part of our product philosophy. But as mothers ourselves, we knew the need to be able to comfortably feed your baby anywhere and anytime. While parents were using the bbhugme Pregnancy Pillow for nursing as well, it was rather big and inconvenient. You couldn't carry it out or travel with it.

We had another focus: Adjustability. Adjustability is important because you have different breast sizes and babies are different shapes and sizes too. Ideally, you need a form of support that would adjust to the mum and the baby, which the other nursing pillows on the market did not provide.

All in all, we just knew that we could make a better nursing pillow than what was out there!

Q: What are some of the most common problems new moms face with nursing and feeding positions?

Ann Kristin: Aching shoulders, bad posture, and painful necks are challenges we see a lot with feeding parents. They are carrying their babies all day and all night, and often without the right support. Dads have these problems too, with bottle-fed babies.

Hilde: By the time we started talking about these challenges and designing the nursing pillow, we had identified our mission as a company: We wanted to build smart, functional products for the families that we take care of. We knew that a lot of nursing pillows on the market just didn’t work. You couldn’t attach or adjust them to your body. They were not ergonomic.

As a new mum, you have a lot going on – you’ve got the baby to maneuver, your breast or the bottle, and then if you also have to maneuver a pillow that doesn’t adjust well, it can become too much. The big challenge was that the lack of properly designed support made feeding stressful and uncomfortable for new mums.

Q: Are there other benefits to comfort while nursing/feeding, other than the obvious physical benefits?

Ann Kristin: The one factor that makes feeding more challenging is stress. I see a lot of new mums stress when they are feeding their baby – they lean forward to bring the breast to the baby’s mouth and end up doing a lot of wrong things. Their spines are uncomfortable, and their bodies are stressed. But if mum is comfortable and baby is well-supported, it allows her to breathe better, relax, focus on and have a better emotional connection with her child.

Hilde: New, inexperienced mums have got a big drive to make this work. As Ann Kristin said, that makes these new mums want to lean in and hunch forward when they're feeding. It shouldn't be that way. Instead, the baby should ‘come to mum’ for a feed.

When new mums can be comfortable during a feed, they produce less of the stress hormone cortisol and more of the love hormone, oxytocin. Being 20-30 cm away from your baby’s face and making eye contact with your baby also stimulates your oxytocin – and that helps to release the milk easier.