Fashion Blogs

Maternity clothes track mom’s health in high fashion

Maternity clothes could one day track the real-time health of an expectant mother, sending data wirelessly to a smartphone or alerting a doctor to any danger.

And the mother-to-be can look good doing it.

Blake Uretsky, a Cornell University senior in the department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design, has created a line of clothes threaded with conductive silver fibers to sense heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and respiration levels from an expectant mother’s skin. The data flows to a device hidden behind a belt buckle that transmits information to a user’s phone, allowing her to check vitals, receive alerts for overexertion, inactivity, elevated stress and other dangers or email data to a doctor, according to Cornell.

Uretsky recently won one of four $30,000 Geoffrey Beene national scholarships for the mix-and-match collection of dresses, slacks, coats, blouses, skirts, sweaters and formalwear.

Uretsky noted that pregnancy is a time where critical monitoring is necessary. More than just a health feature, however, the clothes are meant to be fashionable as well.

“I also wanted to change negative views associated with maternity wear by showing that it can be stylish, professional and trendy,” she said in a statement.

The clothes, branded “B” Maternity Wearables, provide more than just health monitoring. She said her collection stood out because it can be adapted as a woman’s body changes, paired with a variety of components and worn before, during and after pregnancy, according to Cornell.

Adult mentors needed

Ithaca College needs senior citizens to mentor students enrolled in an aging studies class.

Small groups will meet with older adult mentors to connect their in-class learning to mentors’ real-life experiences, according to the college. The meetings, planned for once per month through the spring, start the first week of February at times and places that are mutually convenient.

Mentoring could include discussions about a mentor’s life, media portrayals of aging, spiritual concerns, advice for younger people, and more.