While no one dares to argue the miracle, the wow and the wonder of human milk—pumping said milk has historically come with its share of conflict, judgement and a fairly large dose of pain. To all the resilient moms out there (aka, each of you that have just sucked it up), we’re sorry you’ve had to weather this timeline. That is, until Willow introduced the world’s first wearable breast pump that’s completely spill-proof so moms can have their freedom back.

Keep reading to take a look through the history of breast pumps—a quick how it started and how it’s going (if you will). From the cumbersome, complete systems from the beginning to the life-changing magic of the Willow wearable pump. We’re just so happy to be here (and not stuck in 1854).

Let’s see how far we’ve come.

In 1854, a man named Orwell H. Needham filed a patent for the term “breast pump” to accompany a barbaric, cumbersome and, yes, painful machine. The inspiration? The same contraption that was designed for milking cows. We’ll pass.

Twenty (20!) years later a new pump was designed. Robert C. Gray and Charles E. Gassin, redesigned the old way of pumping to include a bottle that collected milk at the end of the pump and could be unscrewed from the flange. Does that sound familiar? Maybe a little too familiar. It’s not too far off the traditional wall pumps that exist still today.

Suck and release? Ouch. That’s the same basic technology that happens today. Luckily, we fixed that with our patented continuous suction technology that mimics the action of your baby.

We may have forgotten to mention that none of the predecessors were operable by one person. They were multi-person jobs! That all changed when Hulbert H. Halstead designed a pump that added an air chamber and spring interior, not to mention the first inkling of “hands-free” with finger holds so that moms could pump solo.

In 1939, a group of gynocologists asked Einar egnell, a Swedish engineer, to help them invent a new breast pump for moms. He delivered on that request and in1942 a massive machine came to life that was meant to help moms in the hospital. While its enormous size and design makes it seem medieval in retrospect, the intention was to make pumping safer and better for moms.

Mobility is a word we love to use at Willow but this isn’t exactly what we were thinking … in 1980 wheels were added to the Einar design so that hospital staff could move it around more easily. Great for the hospital staff, not exactly an imporvement for moms.

Until this point, pumps were not available to consumers for personal use. In 1998 that changed.

Born without cords, leaks or limits, changing the breast-pumping landscape forever. Moms could finally pump and live at the same time with a wearable, hands-free option and patented leak-proof protection that fits right in your bra. Leaving those other pumps exactly where they belong—in the archives. Take your Willow and *run, walk, work, play, cook, dance and yes, cartwheel. This pump didn’t just change mom’s lives … it changed history.

The history lesson here is that it took way too long to get where we are today. Mom deserve better and that’s why we’re here.

*Please don’t try this with any other pump.