Pioneering Bristol-based breastfeeding and parenting support app Anya has been selected for a prestigious NHS innovation scheme which could make it a mainstay of campaigns to improve the UK’s low breastfeeding rates.
Anya founder Dr Chen Mao Davies will become one of fewer than 100 NIA Fellows selected since the programme’s launch in 2015, following a robust assessment process involving expert clinicians, patients, and NHS commercial leads. 
NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) specialists will now work with Anya to equip the company with critical knowledge, relationships and skills to scale its innovation within the NHS.
The overall aim is to increase capacity for overstretched antenatal and postnatal teams, and to improve outcomes for families in a way that is low-cost, scalable, and robust.
The UK has among the worst breastfeeding rates in the world. Nine in 10 mothers are reported to have given up breastfeeding before they wanted, citing pain and a lack of support as the primary reasons.
Anya, formerly called LatchAid, is meeting this challenge with an innovative app that uses interactive 3D technology and Artificial Intelligence to provide breastfeeding and parenting support, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
The app delivers evidence-based, expert backed support and peer communities, helping parents across 1001 days from conception through to toddlerhood. 
Dr Davies, pictured, a CGI specialist who previously worked on Oscar & BAFTA award-winning visual effects for Hollywood blockbusters Gravity and Blade Runner 2049, developed the app after experiencing her own significant physical and mental health challenges with her firstborn.
She said: “After I became a mother, I discovered that innovation is needed in public health. It was my dream to be part of Hollywood, but I found I could do something more; I could change people’s lives.
“The more I spoke to women about it, the more it made me feel that this was to become my mission. If I don’t do it, who else will?”.
Anya has supported parents in more than 100 countries and is the top-rated breastfeeding app in the ORCHA digital library.
Through partnerships with NHS providers and commissioners, Anya is currently available to a population of over 4.3m in England.
Independent analysis of NHS pilot data has shown that users of Anya are exclusively breastfeeding at six weeks at double the English national average.
During this pilot, over 60% of user demand was seen out of hours, proving the vital, complimentary support Anya provides through collaboration with established NHS health services.
The company’s growth journey has been supported throughout by Innovate UK EDGE finance specialist Ed Tellwright, who helped Anya to develop a clear, compelling and credible investment proposition.
“Ed really helped me to restructure my pitch, make it punchy and follow the thought process of an investor,” said Dr Davies. “It’s proved a big boost to our investment journey, and culminated in us raising more than £1m in 2022.”
