Unsuccessful breastfeeding costs society $1bn per day globally. Research shows that around 90% of women give up brestfeeding before they want to because of pain, health issues or a lack of support. Swehl, a new startup, that is reimagining the breastfeeding journey, wants to change this and give US women access to all the resources they need.
Swehl offers both physical and digital products that help parents throughout their postpartum experience. The platform offers group support in so-called “Talk Circles”, that connect up to eight parents based on where they are in the journey, along with access to Motherboard, a platform of doctors, doulas, and lactation experts. The startup has also created a product suite of latch kits, nipple support, and more.
Swehl launched this week after raising $1.1M in a pre-seed funding from Cleo Capital, Katia Beauchamp (Ex-Birchbox), Betsy Fore (XFactor Ventures), and Ron Finley (The Gangster Gardener). The company was founded by Elizabeth Myer and Betsy Riley, who created the platform based on their own experience with breastfeeding. They hope Swehl will become the go-to destination for the next generation of pregnant and breastfeeding women and their partners.