The approach

Research shows that skin-to-skin contact between a parent and their baby improves the wellbeing of both including spending less time in hospital. The neonatal unit’s office-style chairs were not comfortable enough to do this for an extended period of time so a solution was needed.

Ocura’s Tucson zero gravity chairs provided the answer. The chairs have been proven to help promote kangaroo care, a method which offers support in vital areas such as breastfeeding, bonding between parent and baby, decreasing time spent in hospital, building confidence and aiding mums with milk production. The unit secured a grant from the Evelina Children’s Fund to buy nine of them.

After discussing their requirements, we provided a competitive quote and then arranged for the unit to trial the Tucson chair.

The outcome

Staff saw demand for the chair rocket as more people took up the practice of skin-to-skin and for longer periods.