San Francisco-based Naya Health has raised $4 million in seed funding from Tandem Capital, S-Cubed Capital, NewGen Partners, Astia Angels, and Stanford’s StartX. The company is developing health tech products for mothers, one of which is a smartphone-connected breast pump.

Janica Alvarez, Naya Health’s CEO and founder, said that she got the idea for the device after she became a mother and realized that breast pumps are awkward, loud and uncomfortable. Together with her husband Jeffery Alvarez, an engineer with experience in surgical robotics, she decided to revamp the process.

So Naya Health was born and its first product, The Smart Pump, which consists of a set of flanges, a power adapter, two classic bottles with caps, and two nipples with adapters and caps. The pump uses a hydraulic system instead of air to collect breast milk that makes for a more comfortable and quieter “process.”

The system sends some information, specifically how often a mother pumps, to a companion app called Naya Health Tracker. From the app users can track pumping sessions, record their child’s feedings, and manage breast milk inventory. Some of these functions may soon be available through the Apple Watch as well.

The pump isn’t cheap though — it costs $599 and is expected to ship in the fall.

The company is also working on its second offering, a smart bottle, that will track how much milk is being expressed by mom and consumed by baby.

[Via: mobihealthnews]