Firsttuch’s founder Zeiynab Kane is developing a device that lets families feel a baby’s movements together in real time, offering a new kind of closeness long before birth.
Zeiynab Kane was placed on the Future 40 list this year for founding Firsttuch, an emerging pregnancy-tech company developing the Adori monitor – a device centred on connection and how expectant parents, partners and loved ones can feel closer to a baby before they’re born.
The device allows parents and partners to feel their baby’s movements in real time, wherever they are in the world. Although the product has been developed, it’s not yet on the market, but interest is already building among expectant families who want a more inclusive pregnancy experience.
From surrogacy journeys to couples separated by work or distance, the Adori monitor allows everyone to share early movements together, heightening bonding and emotional presence long before birth.
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Although Firsttuch is rooted in innovation, inventor and co-founder Zeiynab’s journey carries deeply personal meaning. She began developing the concept during the pandemic, and told The Mirror how the loss of her cousin unexpectedly guided her decisions. After grieving for him, she began thinking ahead – including about fears around whether she could conceive after struggling with painful periods and being on birth control for a decade.
“I started thinking, if I wasn’t fertile, how would I handle it? And then just seeing stories of people being separated because of lockdown, everything just kind of spun into one,” she said. “If I have this device, it could be a replacement, closer to the real thing, even though it’s not but I won’t exactly feel left out from that section of life and from then, it grew into where it is today.”
The Adori device is a two-part wearable item that lets parents and partners feel their baby’s movements in real time. One part is worn by the pregnant person and the other by partners or family members. Whenever the baby moves or kicks, it is instantly played on the other device and shared through an app.
“Everything in tech has evolved, but the way that we experienced pregnancy hadn’t. It’s been stagnant for the last how many years?”
Combining her future fertility fears with wanting to improve the pregnancy experience for all parties, Zeiynab wanted to create something that catered to every type of family – including those using surrogacy, parents living abroad, or partners working long hours who don’t get the chance to feel the baby’s kicks.
“For example, I could be here and my surrogate could be in Mexico or Australia or America, and you can still share that moment at the same time,” she said. “If you’re working and you can’t experience it then and there, you still have the opportunity to play back later and have that little bonding session with your child.”
She’s also seen how connection plays a role in how isolating pregnancy can feel. Many pregnant women feel detached, and partners often don’t know how to cater to them, something she believes the Adori can help bridge explaining bonding earlier could even support better mental health after birth.
“It just heightens the bonding experience for the expecting parents – it’s like a bridge to connection,” she said.
The device is already providing hope for families. One woman reached out to say she believed that if she’d had the Adori device during her pregnancy, it would have reminded her of the connection she felt with her child, and that one year of her baby’s early life wouldn’t “have been wasted.”
That emotional impact is what caught the attention of her new co-founders, the award-winning production duo Dabeatfreakz, who joined the company a few months ago.
“We knew it will help so many people, we’d love to help grow this and make it into a product can change the world,” they said. “With men, we don’t really get to feel that bond until the child is here, it doesn’t feel real until their actually in front of you.
“Women can feel everything. You’re throwing up and you feel the kicks, but with us, we don’t know until it’s actually here. With a device like this, you can actually feel the connection from the start with your partner or surrogate and that’s what’s going to make it so special.”
Years after inventing the device, Zeiynab now has one child, is expecting her second and has been able to use her own device throughout her pregnancies. By next year, many more parents are expected to do the same.
Production development begins in January, and the Adori monitor is set to reach the market by the end of 2026 – bringing hope to families long before its release.
