GB2395658A

GB2395658A - Breastfeeding support

Info

Publication number: GB2395658A
Application number: GB0228024A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Helen Marie Watson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-11-30
Filing date: 2002-11-30
Publication date: 2004-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 2022-11-30
Also published as: GB2395658B; GB0228024D0

Abstract

A breastfeeding support is provided for one or two babies for enabling the baby or babies to be breastfed by a mother in a sitting position. The support, which may be a cushion and in particular a beanbag which has a central portion (2) which fits over a mother's lap and two flank portions (4) located one to either side of the central portion. The flank portions (4) extend downwardly and rearwardly of the central portion (2). The central and flank portions are arranged such that the upper surfaces of the central portion and the flank together form a support surface (8, 16) for a baby or babies at the height of a mother's breasts.

Description

Breasffeeding Support This invention relates to a support for one or two

babies whilst they are being breastfed and in particular to a breasffeeding support cushion.

Breastfeeding one baby is generally easily achieved. However, it can be difficult to do other things without disturbing the feeding baby. Also, it can be difficult for new mothers, especially after a caesarean birth, to position the baby correctly while supporting the baby.

Simultaneously feeding twin babies is much more difficult, requires the use of both hands and often requires a by-stander to help position the babies.

Therefore, a mother who is simultaneously breasffeeding two babies will struggle to do other things such as wind the babies, reach tissues or towels 15 to wipe the babies, have a drink or adjust the position of the babies without the aid of a bystander.

The object of this Invention is to enable a mother to breasffeed one baby, or two babies simultaneously, with ease, both in terms of positioning and 20 comfort. According to the present invention there is provided a breasffeeding support for one or two babies for enabling the baby or babies to be breasffed by a mother in a sitting position, comprising: 25 a central portion which fits over a mother's lap; two flank portions one located to each side of the central portion, which flank portions extend downwardly and rearwardly of the central portion; arranged such that the upper surfaces of the central portion and of the flank 30 portions together form a support surface for supporting a baby or babies in a breastfeeding position.

The breasffeeding support fits over a mother's lap when she is in a sitting position with the downwardly extending portions of the flank portions to either side of the mother's legs, preferably extending to the ground, and with the rearwardly extending portion of the flanks extending around the 5 sides of the mothers body under her arms. The support is shaped so as to fit comfortably over the mothers legs, around the sides of her body and under her breasts when the mother is seated on the floor or on a piece of furniture, such as a sofa or a bed. The support provides a comfortable support for supporting one or two babies in the desired breasffeeding 10 position(s), with the head of the or each baby at the height of the mother's breasts, while leaving the mother with both hands free. In particular the support according to the present invention enables a mother to breasffeed twins simultaneously without being aided, when she is seated on the floor in front of a piece of furniture, such as a sofa or a bed. With the babies 15 resting on the piece of furniture the mother may seat herself in front of the piece of furniture and place the support around her body. The babies can then be lifted one at a time onto the support surface of the breasffeeding support from the sofa or bed, etc., comfortably positioned and fed.

20 The support surface of the breasffeeding support can be made substantially flat in order to prevent the babies slipping from the desired breastfeeding position. The support may be made of a mouldable material which is firm when 25 compressed so that it can be moulded around the mother's body so that the support surface is at the correct height. Also, with a mouldable material a recess can be formed in the support surface for the or each baby, to support the baby in a position so that they are prevented from rolling off the support. The support may have a removeable cover that can be washed or cleaned and replaced, as required. Additionally, or alternatively the support may

have a wipeable waterproof cover and/or a removeable top cover which can be releasably fitted over the support surface.

In one embodiment the support is a cushion, which may comprise a cushion 5 cover filed with a filling material. The filling material may be polystyrene pieces, such as polystyrene balls. The filling material may be contained in an inner cover with the cushion cover removeable from the inner cover, for washing. Alternatively, the support may be inflatable. The cushion provides a comfortable, mouldable support for the babies leaving the 10 mother with both hands free.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 15 FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of a breasffeeding support cushion according to the present invention with the rearward facing edges of the cushion shown in dotted lines; FIGURE 2 shows a plan view of the cushion of Figure 1 with a mother simultaneously feeding two babies; 20 FIGURE 3 shows a front view of the cushion of Figure 1; Figure 4 shows a side view of the cushion of Figure 1 with a mother sat beneath the cushion and against a piece of furniture; Figure 5 shows a view similar to that of Figure 1 with the dimensions of the support cushion added; and 25 Figure 6 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 3 showing a detachable cover. Figures 1 to 6 shows a support cushion according to the present invention which comprises a central portion (2) which has an downwardly facing lower 30 surface (6) which sits on the lap of the mother (20). The central portion (2) extends upwardly from the lap to the level of the mother's breasts and has an upwardly facing upper surface (8) which forms a part of the support

surface for the baby or babies (22) and an inwardly facing inner surface (10) which abuts the front of the mother's body. To either side of the central portion (2) is a flank portion (4). Each flank portion (4) extends downwardly of the lower surface (6) of the central portion to the level on 5 which the mother is sitting so that the mother's legs fit between the lower surface (6) and the level on which the mother is sitting. Each flank portion (4) also extends rearwardly of the inner surface (10) of the central portion around the respective side and under the respective arm of the mother.

Each flank portion (4) has an inwardly facing inner face (12) which abuts 10 the respective side of the mother's body, a downwardly facing lower surface (14) which rest on the level on which the mother rests and an upwardly facing upper surface (16) which together with upper surface (8) of the central portion (2) forms the support surface for the baby or babies being fed. The cushion is therefore shaped to provide a body space bounded by 15 the inner surfaces (10, 12) of the central and flank portions of the cushion and a leg space below the lower surface (6) of the central portion between the flank portions of the cushion.

A support according to the present invention, such as the support cushion 20 shown in Figures 1 to 6, may be made of an easily mouldable medium which is firm when compressed. This enables the support to be moulded to the body shape of the women with the support surface (8, 16) at the required height. Ideally, the support surface (8, 16) can be moulded by the mother to form a shallow recess within which a baby can be supported, so 25 that the baby is prevented from rolling off the support surface (8, 16). Such a mouldable medium is easily achieved by forming the support as a cushion comprising a cover filled with a suitable filling. If the support is a cushion it enables loose material of the cushion cover to be tucked around the body of the women to form a firm support surface (8, 16) for the babies.

The support cushion of Figures 1 to 6 is formed as a bean bag, filled with polystyrene pieces, such as balls or the ilke, as this has been found to have

the ideal mouldable qualities required. As shown in Figure 3, the support cushion of Figures 1 to 4 is formed with an inner fabric cover (28) (shown in dotted lines) which may be of a generally dumb-bell shape or which may be of a shape of two abutting spheres which are joined together. The inner 5 cover is filled with the selected cushion filling, for example polystyrene pieces or balls (30). The cushion cover (34) is formed with the dimensions shown in Figure 5, with an opening (32) through which the filled inner cover (28) can be inserted. The opening (32) is preferably formed in the central portion (2) of the cushion cover and can preferably be selectively closed in 10 some way, for example by press studs, a zip or a Velcro_ fastening. The cushion cover (34) is preferably made of an easily washable material, such as cotton fabric, so that at intervals the cushion cover can be removed from the inner cover (28) and washed. For this purpose it may be advisable to have two cushion covers (34), one of which can be used while the other is 15 being washed.

As shown in Figure 6, in order to reduce the number of times the cushion cover (34) has to be washed a top cover (36) shaped to fit over the support surface (8, 16) of the support cushion can be used. The top cover (36) can 20 be releasably fixed to the cushion cover (34) for example by press studs (38) or a zip or Velcrom fastening. The top cover, may be a soft fabric material and/or may be padded for added comfort to the babies resting upon it and is made of an easily washable material. The support cushion could be provided with two or more such top covers (36) so that there is a 25 spare top cover available for use while another top cover is being washed.

Where such a top cover is used, the cushion cover (34) may be made of a wipeable waterproof fabric material, which will not generally require washing. 30 One example of the dimensions of the support according to the present invention, for example of a support cushion as shown in Figures 1 to 4 are shown in Figure 5. The dimensions may be varied to suit the mother,

however, where the cushion support is made of a mouldable material, for example where it is a beanbag filled with polystyrene balls or the like, one size of cushion should fit most sizes of mother. In the Figures 1 to 6 the support cushion is shown schematically to have straight line edges, S whereas in practice the cushion moulds to a more rounded general shape.

The cushion can be used to feed two babies simultaneously, without the help of a bystander. Firstly, the mother lays the babies on the seat surface of a sofa (24) or other appropriate surface, such as the upper surface of a 10 bed. The front of a suitably positioned sofa (24) is shown in dotted lines in Figure 4. The babies are placed on the sofa (24) with their feet facing forwardly, at a spacing equivalent to the spacing of the flanks (4) of the cushion. The mother then sits on the floor with her back leaning against the front surface (26) of the sofa mid-way between the babies with her feet 15 facing forwards (in the same direction as the babies). The mother then places the support cushion over her lap, as described above, on the floor in front of the sofa (24) so that the rearward facing faces (18) of the flanks (4) abut the front surface (26) of the sofa. The mother can then tuck the edges of the cushion in around her to ensure a comfortable and snug fit with the 20 support surface (8, 16) at the desired height. Then one at a time the mother can lift each baby onto the support surface (8, 16) of the cushion so that the head of each baby (22) faces towards the other baby on the support surface (8) of the central portion with the legs of the babies extending in opposite directions around the mother's body along the 25 support surfaces (16) of the flanks (4) of the cushion, as shown in Figure 2.

Once the babies are on the cushion they can be fed comfortably without the need for their mother to hold them. This leaves the hands of the mother free to do other things, for example to wind one of the babies while the other continues to be fed. When feeding is completed, the babies can be 30 placed one by one, back on the sofa and the mother can remove the cushion.

Where only one baby is fed the same procedure can be followed, but with only one baby.

Alternatively, the cushion can be arranged to fit over and around the 5 mother, while the mother is herself sitting on a sofa or other appropriate surface, such as a bed. In this case if the mother were on her own she would sit on the sofa in between the babies, with the babies widely enough spaced so that the entire cushion can easily fit between them. The mother can then place the cushion around her and between the babies and then lift 10 the babies onto the support surface (8, 16) of the cushion from each side.

In this case the extent of the downward extension of the flanks (4) below the lower surface (6) of the central portion (2) and/or the extent of the sideward extension of the flanks (4) to the side of the mother can be reduced. The support cushion of Figures 1 to 6 could alternatively be an inflatable cushion, which may be made from a plastic sheet material and filled with air, via an inlet nozzle or valve to the desired mouldable level of inflation.

The inflatable cushion could be covered with a softer fabric material 20 suitable for a baby to comfortably rest on. For example a cushion cover similar to the cushion cover (34) shown in Figure 3 could be fitted over the inflatable cushion, for example when the inflatable cushion is in an intermediate state of inflation. Alternatively, a top cover (36) of the type described above in relation to Figure 6 could be fitted over the upper 25 surface of the inflatable cushion.

Claims

1. A breastfeeding support for one or two babies for enabling the baby or babies to be breasffed by a mother in a sitting position, comprising: 5 a central portion (2) which fits over a mother's lap; two flank portions (4) located one to each side of the central portion, which flank portions extend downwardly and rearwardly of the central portion (2); arranged such that the upper surfaces of the central portion and of the flank 10 portions together form a support surface (8, 16) for a supporting a baby or babies in a breastfeeding position.

2. A support according to claim 1 wherein the or each flank (4) extends downwardly to the surface on which a mother sits.

3. A support according to any one of the preceding claims made of a mouldable material.

4. A support according to any one of the preceding claims having a 20 removeable cover (34).

5. A support according to any one of the preceding claims having a wipeable waterproof cover.

25

6. A support according to any one of the preceding claims having a removeable top cover (36) which is releasably fitted over the support surface (8, 16).

7. A support according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the 30 support is a cushion.

8. A support according to claim 7 wherein the cushion comprises a cushion cover (34) filed with a filling material.

9. A support according to claim 8 wherein the filling material comprise 5 polystyrene pieces (30).

10. A support according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the filling material is contained in an inner cover (28) and the cushion cover (34) is removeable from the inner cover.

11. A support according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the support is inflatable.

12. A support according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the 15 support surface (8, 16) is substantially flat.

13. A breastfeeding support for one or two babies for enabling the baby or babies to be breastfed by a mother in a sitting position substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the accompanying 20 drawings.