BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, Dec. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS—The Giving Cradle is more than just a cradle designed for safely sleeping babies. It’s a simple, effective answer to one of the world’s most difficult problems.
“There are so many millions of infants who die before their first birthday, and so many hundreds of thousands of women who die in pregnancy each year around the world, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, our services are needed more than ever” says Giving Cradle Founder and CEO, Dr. Karima Ladhani. “80% of those deaths are completely preventable.”
The Giving Cradle was designed as part of the Barakat Bundle, a package of crucial medical items (like a digital thermometer, and an umbilical cord clamp) and health education information (about handwashing and breastfeeding) for women giving birth in South Asia. It comes with an agreement, that you must give birth in a health center.
The Barakat Bundle initially started using commercially-available cradles, bought off Amazon. After conducting focus groups with more than 100 mothers in India, they realized that there was nothing that was a good fit.
“Either because of weather, or because of culture, or because of traditional practices,” says Ladhani. “So that experience that led us to say, okay, the cradle that matches what they’re looking for isn’t on the market--but we can create something.”
“So, we decided to create a cradle that met both needs and wants. Because, ultimately, this is serving as an incentive. For mothers to receive the bundle as a whole, they have to give birth in a health center—and it wasn’t going to be a digital thermometer or some clothes for the baby that convinced them. It was this cradle—that’s what people wanted.”
Bamboo was the perfect material.
“We decided on bamboo, because it’s indigenous to India, aesthetically it fits in homes from high-income to low-income, and there’s a lot of eco-friendly properties,” says Ladhani.
“We decided it needed to rock. Families in India, keeping their babies while they sleep, used a little makeshift hammock made out of a sari, a very traditional cloth. Mothers could be in one room cooking over a cookstove. They’d tie a string to one corner of the hammock, and a string to a toe, and they’d rock their baby to sleep. So rocking was an absolutely essential feature.”
The mesh sides keep the baby cool, ventilated and always visible. The Giving Cradle is also lightweight, and strong. Mothers can easily tote it indoors and outdoors as needed. It has a fitted bug net, to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria. It comes with a waterproof mattress and fitted sheet.
The Giving Cradle proved overwhelmingly popular—and not just in India.
“As we were developing this cradle for South Asia, we started hearing from our friends in North America, ‘This is an amazing cradle. We would actually love this here.’” says Ladhani. “We realized there was an opportunity for families here to have a Giving Cradle, while also supporting the mission of Barakat Bundle. We were already undergoing the process for testing to meet Canadian and U.S. safety standards, even though those aren’t required for India.”
The Giving Cradle has been safety-certified by the Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association and meets the American Academy Pediatrics’ recommendations for a safe infant sleep environment.
A Giving Cradle can be purchased at givingcradle.com for $150. 100% of the proceeds go to support Barakat Bundle, to support mothers and newborns in South Asia.
“The idea is that by selling the Giving Cradle here, families have an opportunity to provide a safe sleep space for their newborn, but also to provide a safe sleep space (plus all of the other items in the Barakat Bundle) for a newborn in need in South Asia,” says Ladhani. “We think that’s a beautiful way to start a legacy of giving for a newborn here.”
About Giving Cradle
Giving Cradle creates safety-certified newborn products for newborns around the world. It is part of the non-profit organization Barakat Bundle. www.givingcradle.com
About Barakat Bundle:
Barakat Bundle is an award-winning 501(c)(3) non-profit that creates life-saving care and
education bundles for mothers and newborns in need in South Asia. www.barakatbundle.org.
Attachments