Technologies that promote safe care for mother and baby during childbirth

17-Sep-2021

On World Patient Safety Day 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) encourages the global community to ‘Act now for safe and respectful childbirth.¹ To address this issue, we’re raising awareness of our Birthing Bed and Nära Bassinet, underscoring our commitment to create a safe environment for mother, baby and caregivers.

There are few moments in life more important than the time a mother first spends with her newborn. However, the reality for many women and babies across the globe is that they don’t have access to safe maternal and newborn care. According to the WHO, 810 women and 6,700 babies die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.¹ The good news is that their recent research highlights two areas that every community can focus on to improve maternal and infant care. The first area of focus is ensuring each mother has access to a skilled healthcare team to deliver the baby.¹

But the second factor that is just as crucial, is ensuring that healthcare professionals have a supportive working environment.¹ To address this issue and deliver on our mission of making healthcare better, we developed the Birthing Bed and Nära Bassinet. Each provides comfort and security, allowing the mother to bond with their infant.

More about World Patient Safety Day¹

· Established by the World Health Organization in 2019

· The goal of the day is to enhance global understanding of patient safety, increase public engagement in the safety of health care and promote global actions to enhance patient safety and reduce patient harm.

When our research and development teams began to examine what OB/GYNs need to ensure a safe childbirth, they learned that doctors are looking for a surface that allows them to work quickly to support the mother with the many unique needs they have during labor. Given how quickly the labor can progress, doctors are also looking to simply and easily reposition the patient. The Birthing Bed encompasses these needs for safe childbirth, allowing HCPs to adjust and remove the Lock-Rite foot section, as well as move mom close to the edge of the bed with speed and ease. To further support comfort for mom, the bed comes with an ultra-comfort mattress with integrated, high-memory egg crate topper.

Since no two patients and no two births are the same, the bed provides a combination of features: an inflatable lumbar support, a motorized Skoocher, an adjustable seat section, dual labor grips, a labor bar, adjustable foot/calf supports and a variable height foot section that can even be removed for delivery.

Birthing Bed

“When a patient is ready to deliver, it’s important that caregivers can move mom to the perineal edge of the bed quickly. We want each mother to be in a safe and comfortable position to allow the baby’s head and body to come through with minimal disruption to her body as possible,” said Richard Derenne, senior principal engineer. “The Birthing Bed allows them to quickly get mom in a safe position with just the push of a button.”

The Birthing Bed promotes safety for caregivers, too. The foot section promotes proper body mechanics to help prevent caregiver back strain and injury.

As for baby, we know that the first moments of an infant’s life are crucial to lifelong development. It is during this time that a mother bonds skin-to-skin with her newborn, creating warmth and establishing an emotional connection. The Nära Bassinet promotes mother-to-infant closeness from the bedside, offering a soft-edge, height-adjustable bassinet with a narrow cabinet that allows mom to safely reach for their infant.

“It’s nice to have the option of propping the baby up on an angle so mothers can look in and reach for their little one,” said Sam Fox, senior design engineer. “The basket that holds the baby is secured by three points of contact so caregivers can find peace of mind knowing that the baby will stay securely in the bassinet.”

When asked about how Stryker views maternal and infant safety, Jessica Mathieson, VP/General Manager of Stryker’s Global Acute Care team stated, “We believe that all healthcare professionals should have the tools they need to safely deliver newborns. The Birthing Bed and Nära Bassinet are two solutions that create a supportive working environment. They help mitigate these risks for mother, baby and caregivers, and it’s our honor to be your partner in delivery.”