Nurses invent drape so c-section mums can hold baby straight away

Mums who give birth by c-section usually have to wait anything up to a half an hour before they can hold their newborn for the first time – an agonising wait for an impatient mum dying to meet baby!

Well, that is soon to become a thing of the past thanks to the invention of a unique surgical drape which allows baby to be passed to mum through a flap, directly after birth. Doctors then close the flap to maintain the sterility of the surgical site as they complete the final stages of the procedure.

The drape is all down to three clever and determined US nurses Kimberly Jarrelle, Jess Niccoli and Deborah Bubic, who invented the special ‘Skin to Skin’ drape so mums who give birth by c-section can have that special skin-to-skin contact with baby right away.

The nurses initially began to develop the concept around three years ago, making 50 prototypes out of used surgical drapes. Once the idea was developed, the nurses hired a lawyer to organise getting it patented and set up their own company, aptly titled Clever Medical.

“We were doing skin-to-skin and seeing how empowering that was to mothers,” Deborah told the Richmond Times Dispatch newspaper.

“When mum gets to hold that baby for the first time on her chest, it is just unbelievable, that experience.”

We are so impressed by the determination of these nurses – what a gift they have given to mums with their amazing invention!