A midwife has created a “game-changing” kangaroo-style pouch that promises to upgrade neonatal care for babies delivered by Caesarean Section and improve outcomes for the tiny newborns.
Stacey Boyle invented the special top for birth partners to wear during surgery, instead of the normal scrubs. It features a pouch that allows vital skin-to-skin contact to take place as soon as a baby is born—while the surgical team shifts focus toward the mother and completing the procedure.
Babies delivered by Caesarean Section can be carefully placed into the sling-like pouch worn by the birth partner. The baby can nestle inside the top and reap all of the benefits of life-changing ‘skin-to-skin’ contact.
This has been proven to regulate temperature, stabilize heartbeat, support steady breathing, and even help with early feeding, as well as improve long term health outcomes, according to the health care team.
41-year-old Stacey came up with the pioneering idea while working in St John’s Hospital, in Livingston, Scotland, after noticing how challenging such contact was for a mom after this type of childbirth.
“We know how good skin-to-skin can be, but it can also be challenging because of the size of the table,” she said. “Most women were uncomfortable trying to do it and it can be unsafe for babies when mums are lying flat.
“More and more birth partners were interested in stepping up to do skin-to-skin, in the interim (and) I wondered if there was a way for partners to have the skin-to-skin contact without taking off their scrubs.”
Stacey approached her line manager, Marianne Hay and together they turned her idea into reality by helping to design and trial different types of material that would help keep babies at the right temperature.
Marianne said they created three different prototypes and found the most effective design to be one for which they used a recycled fleece jacket from the NHS (the UK’s National Health Service) as the covering material, with a secure Velcro opening which was sewn onto newly purchased scrubs.
After a huge team effort and lots of positive feedback from patients, Cozy Cuddle Scrubs (by Stacey), was born.
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Among those to benefit already is Sarah Kean, a 28-year-old mom who gave birth to a baby girl, Ayla, via C-Section on November 20—while her new dad Michael wore the scrubs.
“The scrubs Michael wore this time were very different from those at the birth of our two children,” Sarah reported.
“In our previous procedures, skin to skin contact was not made with our baby until I was in recovery approximately 30 minutes after they had been born.”
This time, Sarah was excited about the excellent outcome.
“It was incredible, Ayla was crying very loudly while her cord was being cut, and when she was weighed, but as soon as she was inside the scrubs with Michael, she settled and was very content.
“They were both able to sit next to me whilst my surgery was completed and I was moved into the recovery room, (compared to) when Michael had to leave the room immediately with the previous scrubs.”
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Michael agrees. “Having that skin-to-skin contact with Ayla was an incredibly magical moment, and it meant so much to be able to stay with her and my wife throughout the entire process.
“The scrubs were really comfortable, and it was so easy to secure Ayla in the pouch, keeping her wrapped up and cradled safely. I would highly recommend them to anyone wanting to create that special bonding moment with their newborn.”
Alison MacDonald, the Nurse Director at NHS in Lothian, said: “By creating a solution that allows partners to provide vital skin-to-skin contact, she has taken an important step toward enhancing neonatal care and supporting families in those precious first moments.”
Alongside NHS Lothian’s Research and Development team, formal NHS Scotland partner InnoScot Health helped protect and register the design, so it can now become more widely available through manufacturing partners. (Stay tuned for more information.)
Fiona Schaefer, at InnoScot Health, described it as “a game-changing innovation for promoting skin-to-skin contact with newborns.”
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“The scrubs have the potential to reach hospitals across the UK, and possibly even globally, improving neonatal care and outcomes for families.”
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