Men can now 'breastfeed' babies thanks to new technology

The product is also marketed as being 'sleep inducement device for fathers'. Photo / Dentsu

New technology from Japan is promising to help fathers take an active part in the breastfeeding process.

Well, sort of.

The Father's Nursing Assistant, developed by Japanese company Dentsu, is a wearable device in the shape of a woman's breasts to be worn by men and mimic the breastfeeding position.

"The amount of time infants in Japan spend sleeping is shorter compared to the rest of the world. Much of the parental stress and difficulties surrounding child rearing are related to feeding and sleeping, and generally the rate of participation by fathers tends to be low," the press release on the product said.

It goes on to say that "breastfeeding is also effective at helping the parent sleep" adding that that is "a benefit that is currently skewed toward women".

As such, the product is also marketed as being "sleep inducement device for fathers".

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"Focusing on breastfeeding, we aim to decrease the amount of burden on mothers and increase the amount of time infants sleep by enabling fathers to breastfeed," the company added.

"Based on advice from paediatricians and babysitters, who say that babies tend to touch the breast with their hands when feeding and that the softness seems to sooth them, the product has been shaped to resemble a woman's breasts.

"As a result, a father can hold his baby in both of his arms, creating a deeper kinship between them and enabling the baby to sleep peacefully in his father's arms. Father's Nursing Assistant has a tank for milk on one side and the breastfeeding system on the other. The device also senses the infant's breastfeeding and sleep timing and is linked to an app that facilitates a better, visual understanding of the infant's condition," the release states.

The product was announced at the SXSW 2019 conference in the US earlier this month.