Reliable Maternity
Empowering mothers on their lactation journey while working to shift the narrative around motherhood.
ABOUT
All caregivers deserve care
Reliable Maternity is dedicated to providing excellent service and top-of-the-line equipment for all new mothers. Based in Norwood, MA, we are one of the leading independently-owned providers of specialty medical equipment and home respiratory supplies in the United States.
Throughout this project, I have served as the Lead Product designer in collaboration with my mom to provide support for new mothers on their breastfeeding journey.
ROLE
Lead product designer
DELIVERABLE
Handouts & Website
TIMELINE
July - December 2022
1
Challenge
Lactation care is a human right
A lactating mother will breastfeed every 2-4 hours. 33% of women say they feel uncomfortable when they see someone breastfeeding their child because they find it too personal. In a recent survey from The Bump, 93% of women stated that public spaces should provide a lactation room.
While raising a newborn is already stressful enough, there must be a more accessible way to support mothers in their breastfeeding journey.
2
Process
How did we get there?
While I don't have experience breastfeeding, my mom has shared her expertise with me after raising 5 kids. With Reliable Maternity, we sought out to address the discomfort around breastfeeding, while maintaining women’s privacy.
We were guided by questions such as:
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How has the pandemic influenced your parenting experience?
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What impact has the rise of technology had on your breastfeeding experience?
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Where do you feel most comfortable (and uncomfortable) breastfeeding?
My four siblings and me
All of us were breast fed by our mom
Our design journey
I am grateful that I have been able to apply my industry design process and learnings to my family's healthcare company. I been involved in designs ranging from early start-ups to collaborating on products that have existed for over 30 years.
The Pumping Process
In order to design the best digital experience possible, we began by seeking empathy from new mothers. I kicked off this project diving in on researching on the breastfeeding journey.
From YouTube videos, health articles, to new mother blogs, I'm feeling pretty prepared for the day that I get to breastfeed. I learned how time consuming the process was, and how many different breastfeeding options there.
kidshealth.org
From Pregnancy to Delivery
Once I nailed down the facts, it was time to hear from mothers on their experience. This was extremely eye-opening as I did not realize the embarrassment that accompanies pumping.
For moms on the move, it is extremely hard to find the time and place to pump and breastfeed. As of now, there are limited public spaces in active environments for mothers to breastfeed.
Click to view full journey
Reviewing our current site
As-is, the Reliable Maternity Site needs to be revised. My brother initially created this site as an early prototype, and nobody has had time to revisit it since. There was limited user research conducted prior to this website; yet, it was a great place to start. I devoted early mornings and weekends to developing and optimum user experience on Reliable Maternity website.
Synthesis & our hill
After consolidating rounds of grouping (and ungrouping) stickies in Mural, questions & assumptions, empathy maps, journey maps, and as-is scenarios, we were able to create our hill and identify the who, what, and wow of Reliable Maternity.
An active new-mom feels supported Reliable Maternity's lactation services
after 1 visit to the website.
Click to view full persona card
JULY 2022
User Interviews at the Falmouth Road Race
The Falmouth Road Race is an annual 7-mile race in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Reliable Maternity had the opportunity to sponsor a table at the race. We saw this as the perfect time to conduct short interviews with expecting and new mothers.
The Falmouth Road Race was the ideal location to connect with our stakeholders like Lily Jane. We linked our existing website to the QR code at our table. While we knew this was the website's early stages, it was still productive to get initial feedback.
My mom, sister, me, and our dog Bliss at the Falmouth Road Race Reliable Maternity tent
Interview Guide
Whether they were running the race themselves or supporting loved ones, we were fortunate to talk to a variety of new families. I drafted an interview guide to prepare for these brief interactions with people at the Falmouth Road Race expo.
I generated a list of questions that focussed on people’s experience with the current Reliable Respiratory site, in addition to the other digital lactation resources they have encountered.
Sample interview guide questions
Prototype 1 Overview
We received a range of feedback pertaining to our tent, link to our site, our product giveaways, how we can improve future races, and the impact our company can have on mothers. When gaining feedback, I always yearn for people to be as honest as possible because it makes our role as designers more clear.
Key Features:
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Homepage that showcases trusted brands and products
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Actionable HIPAA-compliant ways to place your breast pump order
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Client testimonials to showcase Reliable Maternity’s strengths
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Product page that shows users the out-of-pocket price for products
Homepage
Contact Page
Feedback:
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“UI is dull and un-inviting. I question the legitimacy of the site as it’s very bare. I’m tempted to browse elsewhere.”
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“The self-pay catalog pricing is jarring. Am I really going to have to pay $200 for the pump? How much will my insurance cover?”
Self-Pay Catalog
About us
OCTOBER 2022
Prototyping at the Boston 10K for Women
After taking all of the feedback from the Falmouth Road Race, we were ready for another opportunity to engage with users at the 2022 Boston 10K for Women.
The Boston 10k for Women inspires women to set the bar high, achieve their health and wellness goals, and go for their personal best.
We came equipped with new merchandise, infographics, a fresh website, and even our first Lactation Station!
The Reliable Maternity team at the Boston 10K for Women
Prototyping 2 User Feedback
After making design changes on the hierarchy of information and the Reliable Maternity tent experience, we were prepared to share our complete re-brand in October.
As we issued our design changes, we made the decision to move from our current web platform, Wordpress, to Wix. We found that Wix gave us more design flexibility and was easier to make real-time changes.
Key Features:
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Redesigned UI and graphics to illustrate than just as our website and materials receive high-end care, so will our patients
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Created an "Add to bag" feature. Users cannot complete a transaction without calling a Reliable Maternity specialist to receive an accurate quote
Homepage
Contact Page
Feedback:
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“I really like the improved UI - it is so beautiful and makes me want to engage with Reliable Maternity’s products.”
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“The cart icon is confusing, it makes it seams like I am completely a full-transaction with the listed prices.”
Self-Pay Catalog
About us
3
Solution
Lactation support for all
After conducting a range of user testing, it was clear that Reliable Maternity cannot come across as transactional. Rather, mothers want to feel supported and confident that they are making the best decision for their baby and selves.
As a result, we designed our final iteration of the Reliable site to highlight our expert care and the ability to empower families on their lactation journey. We will be launching the our fully re-designed website in January!
Design decision breakdown:
Intuitive and calming interface:
The Reliable Maternity color palette was carefully chosen to exude sentiments of patience, vulnerability, and warmth.
We chose images that clearly visualize the impact of the Reliable experience on mothers.
Accessible support:
Our early call to action in the header was "Order pump now." How are we supposed to gain the trust of new mothers if we are immediately asking them to place an order? We changed this button to say "Request a consultation" to guide the breastfeeding community into a supportive lactation journey.
Lactation care is a human right:
View a variety of pumps with clear product comparisons and ways enable parents to get the care they deserve with their insurance coverage.
Education and advocacy:
With our Community and Blog pages, mothers can easily stay informed with the latest breastfeeding tips, resources, and events around the world.
Website Comparisons
Click to view screens in a pop-up
Original
Revised
Shop page
Pricing & filters:
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Shows out of pocket price - this is jarring and does not depict the full story. There are limited options to distinguish between all of the pumps
Pricing & filters:
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Users are able to input their insurance and see accurate and affordable pricing plans
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Users can filter by brand and lifestyle to find their best pump
Product view
Information overload:
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Users must scroll through an overwhelming amount of text to gather all of the product information
Expandable information:
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Users can expand and close what information is most relevant to them
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Favorite items, so that it is clear users cannot make a purchase without contacting Reliable Maternity
Contact
Limited options:
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Contact page is not welcoming and encouraging for users to reach out
Range of options:
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By adjusting the hierarchy of information, users are willing to reach out with any questions
Throughout our experiences at races, we found that parents enjoy having tangible infographics and forms to walk away with. In addition to our website, I have been creating physical maternity artifacts for mothers to hold onto.
Front & back of breast pump brochure
Front & back of lactation prescription form
Throughout our entire design process, we were committed to creating a design that demonstrated a digital present that fostered balance and support. I believe that our style guide lives to that.
4
Impact
Next steps 📝
Innovative Digital Presence
While we are in the process of launching are new website, we have been looking to create a stronger digital presence of LinkedIn and Instagram. We hope that our social media will help broaden the Reliable Maternity community. Check out @ReliableMaternity to discover some of our posts!
Milk Depot
On December 7th, 2022 we had our Milk Depot grand opening in Norwood, MA! We have partnered with Mothers' Milk Bank Northeast, a nonprofit milk bank providing pasteurized donor human milk to fragile babies throughout the Northeast. We are extremely excited to welcome more mother's to the Reliable Respiratory office to save lives and help families in need.
Reflection 🧠
Team Falkson
This was the first time I had the opportunity to collaborate with my mom and brother on a design project. I found it interesting where in a lot of initial team dynamics, we are slow to take off because we are learning each other's strengths. With my family, there is already so much trust in this team, so the ideas and feedback flowed freely.
Visibility
To break the stereotypes surrounding motherhood that many face, we must work towards the standardization of best practices by demonstrating how mothers should be supported at events. In today's American society, few people really discuss motherhood unless you're on your own journey. I am empowered by all mothers around the world.
