GE Healthcare has launched the Lullaby Warmer which will improve the quality of life of the infants in the country.

The Lullaby Warmer is designed and manufactured in Bangalore. This is part of the company's Healthymagination strategy based on its 'From India and for the world' business model. The device is a bed with an overhead heater, showering the newborn with delicate warmth while the baby is bathed after birth and checked for its first vital statistics. Easy-to-use, the Warmer will improve access to care in the urban and semi-urban settings. It also has a resuscitation for airway management and suction option available, which helps reduce infant deaths from hypothermia and asphyxia.

Globally, 139 million births occur each year, of which approximately 4 million neonates, less than 1 month old, die from mostly preventable causes. At least 50 per cent of global births occur in underserved settings where access to affordable technology remains limited. Twenty-five per cent of the world's births occur in India. Reducing child mortality increasingly depends on tackling neonatal mortality. Globally, an estimated 37 per cent of deaths among children under five occur in the first month of life, most in the first one week. India has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and this remains one of the most neglected care areas. Almost 53 per cent of births in India go unattended by skilled people with no access to critical equipment like baby warmers, incubators, phototherapy systems.

"The healthcare industry in India is challenged by rising costs, inequality of access and persistent quality issues," said V Raja, president & CEO, GE Healthcare South Asia. "We need new cost effective and reliable solutions to bridge the huge gap of unmet healthcare needs in India. Addressing this need will help us grow as well."

In developing nations, where at least 20 million low-birth-weight babies are born every year, warmers and incubators are critical lifesaving devices. However, good quality systems have to be imported and at a high cost local manufacturers are more affordable than imported equipment; however, these low cost systems also come with lower quality making it unsafe for the baby, he added.

In India, many infants have lost their lives due to technical faults in infant care equipment which neither possess adequate quality certifications nor adhere to basic safety norms.

"We are looking to increase our Maternal-Infant Care portfolio by 35 per cent by addressing critical needs for both mother and child care. At present, there is a dire need to reduce the infant mortality rates, and our new range of infant warmers, phototherapy and incubators, which are the outcomes of our Healthymagination initiative, will address these needs. Our warmers are designed to ensure the utmost safety and care for the newborn," said Thierry Leclercq, general manager, Life Support Systems, GE Healthcare.

The Lullaby Warmer is priced 70 per cent lower than imported baby warmers of the same class, yet adheres to all the safety standards prescribed by the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) for such life saving equipment.

"The Lullaby Warmer is remarkably simple to operate, even for a first-time operator," said S Ganesh Prasad, director, Clinical Systems, GE Healthcare South Asia. "GE Healthcare designed the Lullaby Warmer with both the newborn and caregiver in mind. Our goal is to ensure maximum safety for the most delicate patient in the world."