Pregnancy is a transformative journey in a woman’s life, but it comes with significant physiological changes that can sometimes be challenging to manage. Fortunately, in today’s tech-savvy world, smart clothing has emerged as a boon for pregnant women. These innovative garments not only cater to the changing needs of expectant mothers but also provide a stylish boost to their confidence. Smart clothing for pregnancy offers a multitude of benefits, from monitoring health and comfort to enhancing the overall pregnancy experience.
Understanding Smart Clothing for Pregnancy
Smart clothing, often referred to as wearable technology or e-textiles, incorporates advanced materials and embedded sensors to provide various functions beyond traditional clothing. When adapted for pregnant women, these garments cater specifically to the unique challenges and needs of expectant mothers.
Smart clothing is equipped with sensors that can monitor vital physiological parameters such as heart rate, body temperature and fetal movements. This real-time data allows pregnant women and healthcare professionals to keep a close watch on the well-being of both the mother and the baby. This is called ‘physiological monitoring’ which is an essential parameter to be tracked.
Since the human body undergoes significant changes during pregnancy, smart clothing is designed to adapt to these changes. Adjustable waistbands, stretchable fabrics and expandable panels ensure that clothing remains comfortable and accommodates the growing bump. These smart textile-based clothing are not just for pregnancy but also serve a purpose after childbirth. Many designs are versatile enough to support the postpartum body changes, making them a cost-effective investment.
Some smart clothing can connect to mobile apps or devices, enabling remote monitoring by healthcare professionals. This feature is particularly valuable for high-risk pregnancies, as it allows doctors to intervene promptly if any issues arise.
The Evolution of Smart Clothing for Pregnancy
The concept of smart clothing for pregnancy has evolved significantly in recent years. While the primary focus remains on the comfort and well-being of expectant mothers, these garments have also become a symbol of empowerment. The rapid advancements in sensor technology, miniaturisation and wireless communication have made it possible to integrate sophisticated sensors seamlessly into smart clothing. These sensors can now collect data accurately without compromising comfort.
Material innovation is another factor to consider in this evolution journey! Smart clothing designers have embraced innovative fabrics and materials that are both functional and comfortable. Breathable, moisture-wicking and stretchable fabrics ensure that the clothing adapts to the changing body temperature while providing necessary support.
Many smart clothing brands collaborate with healthcare professionals to ensure that their products meet medical standards. This collaboration has led to the development of garments that are not only fashionable but also medically approved for monitoring pregnancy-related health metrics.
Last but not the least, the increasing awareness of the benefits of smart clothing for pregnancy has driven consumer demand. As more women recognise the advantages of these garments, the market for smart maternitywear continues to expand, encouraging further innovation.
Recent developments in this area are substantial. Nisshinbo Textile, a subsidiary of Japan-based Nisshinbo Holdings, has developed a smart belt for pregnant mothers. The belt has a small microphone, which can monitor the baby’s heartbeat and predict a few days in advance when the mother is likely to go into labour. This belt encourages the user to seek medical care if any abnormalities are detected. The company plans to sell the belt as regular apparel rather than a medical equipment.
Sri Lanka’s leading textile and apparel innovation company MAS Holdings has also launched products like ‘stretch with you’ bra and ‘absorbent nursing pads’. During pregnancy, expectant mothers can go up to 2 cup or band sizes more than their usual size. Breast sizes also fluctuate after giving birth and while breastfeeding. Buying larger sized bras, only for a few months of wear, is a key pain point for mothers world over.
Smart clothing is equipped with sensors that can monitor vital physiological parameters such as heart rate, body temperature and fetal movements. This real-time data allows pregnant women and healthcare professionals to keep a close watch on the well-being of both the mother and the baby.
“Our stretch with you bra uses a high performance, high stretch engineered fabric that expands a couple of sizes and recovers back to a smaller size when needed. The bra acts as a comfortable, wire-free stretchable bra to be worn through both pregnancy and nursing, extending its usage. The bra works well with the new range of wearable breast pumps, which can be discreetly inserted into the bra, whilst maintaining its shape,” mentioned MAS.
MAS’ patent pending absorbent moulded nursing pads and bras with a range of absorbency volumes, also help manage the leakage of breast milk experienced by 75 per cent of postpartum mothers. The anti-slip outer fabric offers a customisable gripping feature ensuring that pads do not move around in the bra.
In another development, at Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM, a team is bringing forth biocompatible, stretchable and flexible patch technology for application-oriented implementation, benefiting from Fraunhofer IZM’s years of experience in integrating technologies into flexible materials. For the integrated patch, the researchers are using thermoplastic polyurethane as base materials, in which electronics and sensors are embedded.
This ensures that the wearing experience is similar to that of a regular band-aid instead of a rigid film. To ensure that obstetric monitoring is imperceptible and comfortable for both pregnant individuals and the unborn child, the project consortium plans to integrate innovative MEMS-based ultrasound sensors directly into the PU material. The miniaturised sensors are meant to record data through direct skin contact. Stretchable conductors made of TPU material tracks will then transmit the information to the electronic evaluation unit and finally to a wireless interface, allowing doctors and midwives to view all relevant data in an app. In addition to ultrasound, the researchers are planning to integrate sensors such as microphones, temperature sensors and electrodes.
Even after birth, the new integration technology can be of great benefit to medical technology. With further demonstrators, the Newlife team plans to enable the monitoring of newborns. Sensors for continuous ECG, respiration monitoring and infrared spectroscopy to observe brain activity are integrated into the soft textile of a baby bodysuit and a cap.
“Especially for premature infants and newborns with health risks, remote monitoring is a useful alternative to hospitalisation and wired monitoring. For this purpose, we must guarantee an unprecedented level of comfort provided by the ultra-thin smart textiles: no electronics should be noticeable. Additionally, the entire module has to be extremely reliable, as the smart textiles should easily withstand washing cycles,” explained Christine Kallmayer, Project Manager at Fraunhofer IZM.
The Benefits of Smart Clothing for Pregnant Women
The adoption of smart clothing during pregnancy offers numerous benefits to expectant mothers. These benefits extend beyond monitoring health and comfort and positively impact the overall pregnancy experience.
Improved Health Monitoring: Smart clothing provides continuous and non-invasive monitoring of vital signs, which is especially crucial during pregnancy. It offers peace of mind to both mothers and healthcare professionals, reducing the need for frequent hospital visits.
Enhanced Comfort: The adaptability of smart clothing ensures that it grows with the baby bump, eliminating the need for constant wardrobe adjustments. This leads to increased comfort throughout the pregnancy journey.
Fashionable Choices: Smart clothing empowers pregnant women to maintain their sense of style. From casualwear to elegant dresses, these garments offer a wide range of options to choose from, allowing expectant mothers to feel confident and beautiful.
Cost-Effective: While smart clothing may have a higher initial cost, its versatility makes it useful both during pregnancy and postpartum. This makes it a cost-effective investment compared to traditional maternitywear that may only serve their purpose for a limited time.
Remote Healthcare: For women with high-risk pregnancies or those living in remote areas, smart clothing with remote monitoring capabilities connects them with healthcare professionals, ensuring timely interventions when needed.
Future
The global maternitywear market today values at over US $ 16 billion. Though the adoption of smart clothing by pregnant women has started picking pace only recently, such clothing have definitely emerged as a significant boon for pregnant women, addressing their unique needs and offering a blend of fashion and functionality. With continuous innovation and a growing market, smart clothing for pregnancy are expected to become even more sophisticated, further enhancing the comfort, style and well-being of expectant mothers. As the fashion industry continues to prioritise the needs of pregnant women, smart clothing options will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in transforming the maternitywear landscape.
