There are babies hospitalised on nearly every unit of a paediatric hospitals all over the world right now wearing loose, paper thin hospital gowns, struggling to feel safe. They're often strapped into papoose boards for IVs, blood draws, eye drops or sutures and, although the hearts of the staff members bleed for these babies, there doesn't seem to be another way. 
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Well, there didn't seem to be another way- until now...

I became a Certified Child Life Specialist in June 2007, roughly a year after working in the field. I completed a  Practicum at a children's hospital in Texas on the Medical/Surgical Unit and spent most of my days with the "trach babies" reading stories, singing songs, and doing my best to get them into the strongly advocated for hands-over-heart position. Every 15-20 minutes (it seemed), one of the babies, wearing a diaper or loose gown, was being suctioned by a nurse and their arms would flail wildly as they struggled to cope with this necessary nuisance. I remember my twenty-year old self wondering if there was a better way to comfort them... 

I then completed another practicum in a different hospital nearby including a NICU and ER rotation. In the NICU I learned from a Child Life Specialist I'd come to refer to as "The Baby Whisperer" for the next twenty years and who I'd eventually serve on a team with. In fact, she'd help review my future product designs. She advocated heavily for swaddling and taught me the importance of containment and creating boundaries for newborns, not only for comfort and safe sleep, but for bone fusion and muscle tone. She taught me how to swaddle babies during various procedures to keep them calm, reduce trauma and negative touch. I noticed that without the guidance of a Child Life Specialist, many of these babies went unswaddled during procedures and would arch their backs, splay their finger and toes (an infant stress signal) and start hiccuping or yawning, which are also signs of stress. 

I knew from my coursework in Child Development that stress causes an increase in cortisol levels and the firing and rewiring of neurons in the brain that say, "You're not safe." I knew that babies preferred to be swaddled and when they're unswaddled, especially in the first three months of life known as "The Fourth Trimester," they feel as though they're falling. They flail the arms and legs around desperately looking for boundaries to get a sense of safety. 

Following these practicums I'd complete an internship in the ER and the Surgical units and then work Day Surgery and PICU before finally accepting a senior level position covering Hematology/Oncology and Gastroenterology. What I noticed across all of these units was that babies are EVERYWHERE in paediatric hospitals, yet there are NO swaddles and NO developmental care garments outside of the NICU. This bothered me immensely but, in my twenties, as a fairly new Child Life Specialist, I felt helpless and small, just like them. 

But, then I started a Parent Coaching business supporting new moms and teaching Newborn Care classes and sleep coaching outside of the hospital. I was advocating for parents to use a developmental care product called the Woombie, at home for safe sleep and comfort during distress. I reached out to Karen Barski, creator of the Woombie, and asked her if we could work together to redesign a Woombie to meet the needs of hospitalised infants. Luckily Karen is a "yes" person so together we created Woombie Med Pods and the famous Woombie Bili Pod, the first  swaddle for babies undergoing phototherapy that provided full luminosity!

We need Child Life Specialists to be our soldiers on the ground, advocating to their Charge Nurses and hospital system buyers to offer the Woombie Med Pods line on each unit! 

To Child Life Specialists who seek to comfort the tiniest peanuts on their units,

The Woombie Sleepy Pod can be given to term babies (NB 0-3m or Big Baby 14-19lbs)  for safe sleep, developmental care, and procedural support. Try this swaddle in the ER after stabilising an infant after a car crash, head sutures, abuse, or removal from a domestic violence situation. Use the Woombie Sleepy Pod for infants on the respiratory unit admitted for RSV, flu or croup. Use the Sleepy Pod in Radiology for EEGs or utilise the double zipper for a VCUG whilst keeping the baby swaddled waist up. The Woombie Trach Pod can swaddle babies with a trach placed or post-op cardiology patients. The Woombie Gastro Pod supports babies with post-op stoma, umbilical IV, ostomy bags, or g-buttons and the Woombie Bili Pod can be used for babies undergoing withdrawal symptoms from opioid addiction without the risk of overheating due to its breathability factors. Consider the Woombie Med Pod for sickle cell patients, after PICC line placement, or the Woombie Trach Pod for patients with port-a-caths or broviacs. What if the Woombie Sleepy Pod was available in wound care? Trust me, I remember how hard it was to safely hold a baby into a comfort position during an unpacking of a wound! The double zipper makes it easy to access the limb needed for the procedure while keeping the rest of the baby contained and warm.

Whichever unit you cover, we need you, Child Life Specialists, to advocate for Woombie Med Pods for developmental care and procedural support! Please reach out to a fellow Child Life Specialist Chelsea Vail at [email protected] to discuss your unit's needs. We'd like to help you get started!

Woombie Med Pods made their debut at the AAP conference in Chicago in 2017, but Woombie has been safely swaddling babies for more than twenty years. Woombie has sold well over a million swaddles without a single safety recall. The patented peanut-shape is the shape to be trusted. 

The peanut-shape of the Woombie Med Pod puts baby in a womb-like position to ease the transition from the womb to the world during the fourth trimester. Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Child Life Specialists love the Woombie Med Pod line. 

"Finally! A swaddle that actually works!" -Hannah, NICU nurse, Texas
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The Woombie Bili Pod has been successfully swaddling babies during phototherapy worldwide whilst allowing full luminosity, but did you know it can also be used to provide developmental care for NAS/NOWS babies? Have you, and your staff, used it to meet full-view initiatives? What about using it to swaddle squirmy peanuts in the Turtle Tub or during bath?

FDA/CE Marks: Here at Barski Vail Designs, LLC, creators of the Woombie Med Pods line, we're often receiving inquiries about FDA approval and CE marks. Woombie Med Pods classify as accessories, or support garments, therefore these certifications are not required of our products. They have; however, been safety tested in a third party lab and have passed OSHA requirements for sanitation. 

LAUNDERING Although the pods can be laundered and refused, we recommend they be used as disposables to avoid cross-contamination or losing them in the wash. This is why we keep our prices low! We recommend every patient be given 2-3 pods during their stay so that baby can remain safely swaddled even in the event a pod is soiled. 

Woombie is one of the top recommended products for new moms to have on hand when they bring their new baby home, but we believe well-baby units and Newborn Nurseries should offer our Woombie Sleepy Pod as a birthing gift to new moms. The Woombie Sleepy Pod allows baby to be swaddled for safe sleep, swaddled throughout vital signs checks, heel sticks, and even diaper changes to avoid hyper stimulation or negative touch in those early days. The Woombie Sleepy Pod is a best practice for family centered care initiatives and should be the standard swaddle for every term baby and neonate. 

Reach out directly to us to inquiry about Woombie Sleepy Pod, Woombie Gastro Pod and Woombie Trach Pod [email protected] .

Woombie Bili Pods can be purchased via our distribution team at International Biomedical [email protected]

Swaddle every baby!

Once upon a time, I ran a local moms blog that frequently ran posts featuring "must haves". One very popular blog post was always the updated list of "hospital essentials for new moms" considering new moms frequently emailed requesting to know essentials that veteran moms recommended. The top most suggested item from veteran moms in the know (no bias here- it's just a fact) was Woombie! 

The Woombie swaddle has been swaddling babies safely and efficiently for over twenty years without a single safety recall. The patented pant-shape mimics the womb to ease the transition from the womb to the world and keeps baby in the hands over heart position for optimum brain development whilst offering containment for continued bone fusion and flexion. 

Imagine a little boy walking in the forest and he comes across a chrysalis. Its in his little boy nature to want to pick at the chrysalis to release the butterfly, but if the butterfly is robbed of the opportunity to push through the chrysalis unencumbered, the wings will be too weak for the butterfly to survive. Similarly, a newborn human needs to be cocooned for the first three months of life. It's not ready to be loose or it feels sort of "lost in space" as though its falling. A newborn human has no awareness of its position in time and space and thus can be born into a somewhat scary place. But, a baby swaddled tightly in a Woombie Sleepy Pod feels as though it's still inutero which is best for optimum development. 

The Woombie Sleepy Pod is a hospital essential and we hope best practice for Mother-Baby units and newborn nurseries. Vital signs can be checked through the swaddle without disturbing the baby which decreases negative touch and decreases exciting the Moro reflex which causes unnecessary stress. The baby's foot can be gently pulled out via bottom zipper for pulsox, heal sticks or footprints. In fact, the double zipper can be utilized during circumcision whilst keeping baby swaddled up top! 

Please reach out to place an order. Woombie Bili Pods for phototherapy, cooling babies and NAS/NOWS populations can be purchased directly through our distributor International Biomedical. We look forward to helping you 'Woombie" every baby!

Happy swaddling!