The pregnancy wearable that tracks contractions
WHO THEY ARE >> bloomlife.com WHAT THEY DO >> Wearable devices that track pregnant women’s contractions
WHY IT’S COOL >> In the U.S., more than six American babies die for every 1,000 live births — that’s an unusually high rate for a developed nation, and one that puts the U.S. behind 25 other countries, including Finland, Korea, France, Israel and Slovakia, according to 2010 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eric Dy, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Bloomlife, thinks new technology can help change that.
Bloomlife makes small, wearable sensors that pregnant women can stick on their bellies if they think they might be having a contraction. The device syncs up to the woman’s smartphone, allowing her to determine whether she’s experiencing a contraction, measure the
FROM PAGE 1 duration and frequency of the contractions, and determine whether she needs to go to the hospital. The idea is to let women know whether they are in labor, and if so, how far along, or whether they are experiencing a false alarm — knowledge that should help reassure expectant mothers, especially those worried about pre-term labor, Dy said.
WHERE THEY STAND >>
Bloomlife started shipping its devices in March, after a beta test and three clinical studies. The company rents the sensors for $24 a week — after they give birth, mothers return the machines for another woman to use.
Next up, Bloomlife plans to update the sensors with new software that will allow them to track other measures of fetal health, such as kicks, fetal heart rate, and the mother’s sleep and stress levels. Eventually, Bloomlife hopes to use that information to compile a crowd-sourced dataset to help doctors study pregnancy complications.
Only in Silicon Valley
A new app launched for people in Silicon Valley and beyond takes crowdsourcing to a whole new level, allowing users to ask the masses for input on everything from the length of a voting line, to skiing conditions on a nearby slope, to the scene at the local nightclubs. YouMap.com is a location-based social network where users post updates or view the activity of others based on their location on a digital map. You can sign up for specific channels to get updates based on your specific interests, such as local crime or UFO sightings.
Run the numbers
Need a vacation? Apparently you’re not the only one. Workers in the Bay Area last year failed to use 62 percent of their vacation days, leaving a grand total of 12.8 million days unclaimed, according to a study commissioned by Samuel Adams and The Boston Beer Company. And it’s not just us — employees across the country are working too much, according to the brewery. Last year Americans failed to take 662 million vacation days — equal to approximately 1.3 billion hours of cornhole, 662 million sunsets, and 2 billion beers with friends, according to the report.
Market research firm GfK conducted the study on behalf of Sam Adams, surveying 1003 Americans ages 18 and older.
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This blogger’s graphic recounting of her recent experience with Soylent, the meal-replacement drink popular with some Silicon Valley techies, may have you steering clear of the cult phenomenon. Geraldine DeRuiter, who publishes the travel blog everywhereist.com, decided to replace two meals a day with Soylent every day for a week. In her words, “it did not end well.”
She first describes the off-white, intentionally tasteless liquid as “milk left over in Lucky Charms, minus the sweetness,” adding, “It’s thick; like swallowing cold pancake batter — and has a vaguely oaty taste to it.” Not so bad, right? But then comes the “explosive diarrhea,” cramps and comments including “I have openly started weeping,” and “I can’t sleep because I’m scared I will die.”
But DeRuiter sums up what may be an even bigger problem with the meal-replacement concept, writing: “I derive a lot of joy from food because I’m not a sociopath.”