Bellabeat launches 3 new devices to help moms track their babies' health

Moms constantly worry about their kids’ health — but pregnancy and the first year of a baby’s life can be particularly nerve-wracking.

Bellabeat, a company that got its start with a gadget for listening to and tracking babies’ heart rates while still in the womb, knows this very well, and today it’s announcing a trio of new products — the Shell, Leaf, and Balance — to help moms out.

The Bellabeat Shell is sort of an update on the original Bellabeat heart monitor. It monitors an unborn baby’s heart rate, movements, and other data. The data is then captured by the Bellabeat app, and moms can share it with their loved ones and other moms in the community. The Shell also enables moms to play music to their babies in utero, tracking their movements and reactions.

The Bellabeat Leaf is the company’s new activity tracker, which is specifically designed to be used before, during, and after pregnancy. The Leaf not only helps moms monitor the usual steps and calories, but it also tracks sleep and stress levels. It is designed to support different goals during different phases — building healthy habits before pregnancy, staying active during the pregnancy, and working off the baby weight afterwards. The tracker can be worn as a necklace pendant, clipped to a mom’s shirt, or as a bracelet.

Lastly, the Bellabeat Balance is a connected scale for both mom and baby. The scale can be used during pregnancy to track a woman’s weight gain, but it can then be used to weigh the baby post-pregnancy — something now often done with expensive, specialized scales designed for infants.

Bellabeat released its first heartbeat monitor in February and sold more than 35,000 units. Using this experience about what its customers want, they have designed their new devices to feel calming and friendly, using wood as a primary material on the outside and natural leaf designs. “Medical devices are really clunky, expensive, and cold,” said Bellabeat co-founder Sandro Mur in an interview with VentureBeat.

Data is also at the core of Bellabeat’s mission. “Our biggest value here is data that we collect from our users … so we want to engage with every user, collect the data, and help them with the data,” said Mur.

The Silicon Valley-based company, which graduated from Y Combinator’s program in late March, is currently focused on the U.S. market, where most of its customers are located. It has, however, seen significant traction in Brazil, Japan, and Australia, where it will soon shift its attention with an eye toward growth.

The new devices are now available for pre-order at discounted prices and are expected to begin shipping in late January 2015. The Shell will cost $119, the Leaf is priced at $89, and the Balance will be $99.

Bellabeat was founded by Urška Sršen and Sandro Mur and is based in Mountain View, Calif. The company has raised $4.5 million in seed funding from SV Angel, CrunchFund, Nicolas Berggruen, Paul Buchheit, Justin Kan, Michael Seibel, Universal Music Group, Cherubic Ventures, Promus Ventures, Yi Pin NG, Boon Hwee Koh, Adrian Aoun and others.