Health

A Better Bassinet For Healthier Families

“We are excited to be making this medical device a reality.”

“We are excited to be making this medical device a reality.”

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 BassinetTM 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…Opens in new window

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Funding Priorities

    Explore More Stories

    Rebecca Fry leans agains a shelf in the Fry Lab.
    Faculty Support

    Angling for Solutions

    Rebecca Fry’s lab is one of the first to study the effects of prenatal exposure to toxic metals as it relates to the epigenome.

    Portrait of Dean Nancy Messionnier
    Faculty Support

    Honored for Advancement of Medical Sciences

    Dean Nancy Messonnier inducted into the National Academy of Medicine

    Elderly women participate in an exercise class
    Health

    Moving Toward Better Cognition

    New project seeks to pilot greater physical activity for older adults

    Health

    Showing Teens the Real Cost

    Carolina researchers find that Real Cost anti-vaping ads are effective at discouraging youth from vaping

    Portrait of Danyu Lin
    Research

    Crucial Study for Child COVID

    New research makes the case for children’s COVID boosters

    A doctor performs a sonograph
    Global Impact

    Making Ultrasounds Universal

    Using the power of artificial intelligence to improve maternal health worldwide