20,000,000 low-birth-weight and premature babies are born each year. This occurs primarily in developing countries, often in areas that don’t have access to innovations in modern medicine. One of the biggest problems these babies face is hypothermia: they are not able to regulate their own body temperature, and therefore cannot stay warm. In fact, room temperature for these small infants feels freezing cold. 4 million of these babies die each year. Those that do survive often develop life-long health problems such as early onset of diabetes, heart disease, and low IQ.
Traditional incubators cost up to $20,000, the Embrace infant warmer costs $25. Many of the babies born prematurely in the developing world could be saved with an incubator, but traditional incubators are expensive and not available, nor appropriate, for rural areas that don’t have access to electricity. “Many premature babies are never given a chance to make it out of the hospital,” says Crystal, a missionary in Uganda, “Because there are no incubators, the babies are left to die. They are put on a table or directly in the trash without the comforting touch of their mothers in those final moments.” In light of these constraints, current solutions are in-home remedies. Desperate methods created to take care of these vulnerable babies include wrapping hot water bottles around their bodies or placing them near ovens. These solutions are unsafe and cause many infants to die unnecessarily. If given simple and proper medical treatment, many would not only survive, but grow and thrive.
The design of the infant warmer is simple. It looks like a miniature sleeping bag but in reality saves lives of vulnerable infants. It is a new, low cost solution to help keep low birth weight babies’ body temperature warm so they can survive and thrive in developing countries. It can be used in clinics or in community-based settings. Embrace’s customers will be private clinics, NGOs and governments, who will also serve as distribution and education partners.
Features of the infant warmer:
- Requires no electricity
- Has no moving parts
- Portable
- Safe and intuitive to use
- Easy to sterilize
- (can be re-used)
Learn more about Embrace and find out how YOU can be a part of this life-saving movement!
Note: All content in this article is directly from Embrace’s website.
