By Jane Elliott BBC News health reporter

Neonatal units encourage contact

One in 10 babies born in Britain is premature - many are so tiny that it can be some time before their parents are able to take them out of their incubators and cuddle them.

A new design by an art graduate hopes to change this by creating the "humanising incubator".

Instead of parents being able to get access to their newborn only through the portholes of an incubator, Sally Halls' design would allow parents to pick up their baby and get important bonding sessions with it in the early stages.

"It brings them out of the incubator and back into the parent's arms, whilst still maintaining all medical need," said Ms Halls.

Design

Neonatal experts say the design is still in the very early stages, but say they are interested in principle.

Sally, who won an award with her design from the Royal College of Arts, said the new incubator aimed to reduce the isolation of premature babies.

As a new parent the first thing you want to do is to really hold your child Sally Halls

"I wanted to do something like this after seeing images in the media of sick babies with no human contact.

"I wanted to see if there was anything that could be done to give them contact in a more human way.

"As a new parent the first thing you want to do is to really hold your child, but even if you can, you worry that you are interfering with their recovery."

She said her product was not designed to replace incubators in hospitals, but to enhance them and to allow the baby to be handled earlier.

In her new incubator, the baby would sit on a heated mattress that would then fold around it creating a closed, sealed environment when held by the parent.

The mattress inside would also be specially designed to prevent bed sores and make it more comfortable for the baby who spends most of its time in there.

There would also be an inflatable ring around the baby, allowing it to feel more secure and to mimic the conditions in the womb, and a humidifier would pump warm air around inside.

Safety

Ms Halls said everything possible would be done to increase access to the baby, while still maintaining its safety.

"In order to enable full interaction with the mother, the baby's head has been left uncovered. As the mother was the host parent for the child, any antibodies will be shared by the mother and child. This means that the baby will have a natural defence to anything the mother may carry.

"The baby can see, hear and smell the mother, and be reassured through all its senses, " she said.

Mothers would be able to cuddle their babies earlier

Ms Halls said she had received tremendous support for her design from medical staff and parents, and said she was hoping to get incubator manufacturers interested in taking on her design for production.

Dr Jane Hawdon, consultant neonatologist at University College London Hospital, said she had seen the prototype and said that while it was still in the early stages, it had potential.

"I thought it was excellent. She took the principles from her visit to our neonatal unit and she applied them well. I think in principle it would be very welcome."

She said neonatal wards, like her own, always encouraged parents to have as much contact as possible with their babies, as this had been shown to improve recovery.

"Almost all neonatal units try to do all they can to bring babies out for cuddles and this is a very good way of doing this.

"There is a lot of work showing how the babies are handled and cared for enhances their outcome."