Three nurses have invented a drape for mums who have caesareans so they can have immediate contact with their babies.
The "skin-to-skin c-section drape", currently being tested in America, has a sealable hole in the surgical drape during a c-section so the baby can be passed through as soon as he/she is born.
Kimberly Jarrelle, Deborah Burbic and Jess Niccoli, based in Richmond, America, said they came up with the idea after seeing how empowering it was for mums to have immediate contact with their babies after a vaginal birth.
"In c-sections, more often than not, women who wanted that experience were told 'No, this is a sterile environment. We can’t do that in the operating room'," Burbic told Richmond.com.
The drape is currently being tested in three hospitals in America
In a c-section, the surgical drape is between the mother and the doctors to block the view of what is happening.
According to the nurses, once the baby is born it is often cleaned and put on a warmer because operating rooms are kept cool.
A new mum could be waiting between five to 30 minutes to hold her baby, they said.
The flap in the drape allows the baby to be passed through. The flap is then closed which maintains the sterility of the surgical site as the doctor stitches the uterus.
"When a new mum gets to hold that baby for the first time on her chest, it is just unbelievable, that experience," Burbic added. “We were going, 'How could we make this happen in the operating room?'"
The nurses said they trialled about 50 different prototypes, changing the size of the opening and the fastening before coming up with their final product.
They have since got the product patented and set up their own company - Clever Medical, according to Magic Mum.
They have introduced the product at the national conference of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses where three hospitals have agreed to test the drape.