A Better Bassinet For Healthier Families

The first few days after a baby is born are the foundation for mother-infant relationships. But across the United States and in most hospitals globally, bassinets aren’t designed for mothers to tend to their newborns from their maternity beds. Instead women encounter undue strain, frustration and potential injury while accessing infants out of high-walled bassinets, especially during cesarean section recovery. This situation puts infants at risk for falls or accidental suffocation, since mothers are not easily able to set babies down in a safe location. When a mother deals with this, she must rely on a partner, doula or nursing support for infant care. This is a health equity issue as new mothers are vulnerable to varying degrees.

The new bassinet model created by Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute’s Dr. Kristin Tully and her colleagues is patent pending. Kristin Tully, Carl Seashore, Alison Stuebe and Catherine Sullivan partnered with recent mothers, healthcare providers, NC State University College of Design, Trig Innovation and national maternity care leaders to create a new mother-infant environment. Their bassinet has only three walls to give mothers better bed-access as it attaches to their bedside. Dr. Tully believes the Couplet Care Bassinet^TM is promising for promoting wellness for new families. “We are excited to be making this medical device a reality,” Tully said.

Read the complete Carolina Story from the Gillings School of Global Public Health…

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