What if moms could press pause on motherhood, in the spur of the moment?

Challenge: It is difficult for new mothers and stay at home mothers to spend time alone, and finding daycare services is time consuming and doesn’t always work out.

Solution: An on-demand, short term childcare service for moms that is as easy as ordering a ride.

Case: Provide more ways for mothers to seek time alone.

Services: UX, UI, Service Design, Branding

Methods: Interview Insights, Empathy Mapping, Wireframing

Goals & Scope:

Moms want more “me time”, but childcare is not always
easy to find, affordable, and/or secure.

In over two dozen interviews with mothers, many of which are new mothers with children under the age of one, they expressed difficulties finding time for themselves due to bodily conditions as a direct effect of giving birth along with, for many, their
stay-at-home mom identities.

Reframing the
Problem:

Professional caretakers like doulas are in high demand, unable to extend time with clients, and aren’t affordable for all families.

When re-examining the initial goal, for moms to have more free time for themselves, obstacles to the goal became clear. Current options for care are in high demand, making them unable to satisfy the needs of families who can afford assistance and too expensive for some families. According to surveys by Care.com, in 2018, one in three families (33 percent) now spend 20 percent or more of their annual household income on child care.”

Numerous mothers whom I interviewed expressed seeking childcare was frustrating because many times their sitters need to cancel with little warning.

Brainstorming:

From crying cafes to office
co-working spaces for moms, a collaborative brainstorming session opened the door to dozens of solutions.

Hiatus combines concepts of public spaces and baby walking to create a convenient way to hire childcare. Using current business models like Rover, a dog-walking service, Hiatus uses the city as its playroom. Hiatus is unique because it challenges the boundaries of childcare, bringing the service outdoors as opposed to inside homes. In turn, public spaces which can silently discriminate against mothers, especially in eating establishments where children are welcome but frowned upon for their inherent disruption, offer moms a way to escape from motherhood for an hour or so.

Hiatus is set up the same way as any other reputable childcare service; sitters are qualified and verified. You aren’t handing your child over to a stranger, you are hiring a competent and experienced caretaker. You can always count on Hiatus because matches with caretakers only occur if the sitter is available and able to reach you on foot within ten minutes. In other words, you will never be cancelled on anymore.