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Young babies aren’t always in the medically right circumstances to be able to see their mother immediately after labor. And when they grow up, sometimes mothers and fathers alike want a moment for themselves without the baby strapped to one of their chests. Also, these parents probably would like some hours of sleep at night. This is a concept that most parents know by their clear lack of it. These are all known problems that parents constantly have to deal with.
Hugsy: smart blanket for babies
The founders of Hugsy, Sylvie Claes (CEO), Jody van den Tillaart (COO) and three other students designed a smart blanket for babies that saves the unique smell and heartbeat signature of the parents. Therefore, they found a solution to the problems that were discussed earlier. By using the blanket, babies can sleep feeling the presence of their parents.
Reduction of stress
This blanket would clearly make the lives of parents easier, but the child also gains a lot from it. Aside from a reduction of stress, the baby will also build a better resistance to diseases. Other benefits to the baby are: more sleep, a better bond between the parents and the child, the stimulation of breastfeeding, a better amount of gained weight and it has a positive influence on the development of the brains.
Funding through Leapfunder
Through the platform Leapfunder, Hugsy can be made a reality. The startup, which began as a students’ project at the Technical University of Eindhoven, sought a solution to the absence of parents on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). They presented Hugsy at HighTechXL and started their seed round on Leapfunder shortly after. So what was the result? After the seed round, Hugsy gained 200.000 euros to develop Hugsy. Sylvie Claes stated the following: “This sum is more than enough to actually develop and sell our product”.
Availability
Another interesting statement by Claes: “parents and nurses alike await the availability of our smart baby blanket”. Interestingly enough, Hugsy will be available in two variants: Hugsy Home and Hugsy Hospital. Hugsy will seemingly be good enough to be implemented in hospitals, although it will take longer to develop this variant of Hugsy according to the founders of the startup. In my opinion, the use of Hugsy in hospitals will not only help the hospitals, but it will also promote the legitimacy of the product to parents themselves.
Success
Hugsy seems to be a success already, and I certainly agree. The product will make the lives of parents easier and the lives of children better. Hospitals already recognize the potential of the product, and it will only legitimize the product even further. Furthermore, maybe parents will even get some time for themselves. Maybe they even will get a good night’s sleep.
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