Hybrid Infant Warmer

Abstract

An estimated 15 million babies are born preterm each year (before 37 weeks of pregnancy are complete). Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age, responsible for nearly 1 million deaths in 2013. The World Health Organization recommends that Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), where the baby is carried by the mother with skin-to-skin contact and frequent breastfeeding, is a particularly effective and safe alternative to conventional neonatal care for the management of low birth weight infants, especially in underresourced settings. KMC has been shown to prevent infections, promote breastfeeding, regulate the baby’s temperature, breathing, and brain activity, and encourage mother and baby bonding. Initiated in hospitals, KMC has the potential to reduce reduce newborn deaths by 51% for preterm babies who are stable. Current uptake of the practice is however low. The goal of this project is to design a low cost and hybrid infant warming device for use in low-resource settings that promotes Kangaroo Mother Care and transitions to a standalone incubator when the mother cannot maintain skin-to-skin contact.