A new device that has been hailed a "pregnancy bracelet for dads" isn't necessarily what you low key hoped it would be — assuming everybody else thought it would be hilarious if a bracelet made men as miserable as pregnancy makes women. But hit pause on your disappointment, because it's actually much cuter than that. The smart bracelet mimics babies' motions in the womb so their partners can feel it, too — in real time. The brainchild of three jewelry students at the Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, The Fibo has been developed by First Bond Wearables, and their mission is too precious for your eyeballs.
Citing that fathers and non-carrying partners often feel left out of the bonding experience of pregnancy, the creators aim to use The Fibo to strengthen the family bond. "Many fathers we spoke to said they first realized they were bringing a new life into the world when they heard their baby’s heartbeat for the first time,” said Sandra Pétursdóttir, Fibo's head of research and media, to The Huffington Post. “We want this feeling to last longer.”
The creators also note that, if it takes off, it would be a sweet societal cue for people to know that fathers and non-carrying partners are expecting too, which could serve as an interesting community tool — whereas pregnant women are often engaged in parenting-related conversation because they are visibly expecting, non-carrying partners aren't nearly as engaged in them. The social cue of the bracelet may be a clever way to bring them into the same supportive loop.
So how on earth does this magic work? During the third trimester, the mother-to-be can wear a small device on her stomach that detects and transmits to the bracelet, which in turn "mimics" the movement so that the wearer can feel it on their wrist. The movements are mimicked by four small beads in the wearable, which are felt on the top of the wrist.
The product is still in development right now, in focus groups with pregnant and recently couples. The Fibo will be marketed as a rental, but the information from it can be stored and saved in a piece of jewelry as a memento.
"With Fibo, we are hoping to share the experience of pregnancy,” Pétursdóttir told The Huffington Post.
Yes, the feels are precious. But if you're still itching for a video where men feel a little more than just some in utero hiccups and kicks, then please, settle in and enjoy this gem to take the edge off the end of this week (*Cues up "Circle Of Life"*).
#Bless you, technology, for all that you do.
