The present invention relates to a sling for babies and a method for using this sling.

More specifically, the invention is intended for carrying small babies during the maternity period, and more specifically for newborn or premature babies.

It is known that for newborn or premature babies direct and freguent skin contact is invaluable. Various scientific studies have shown that carrying a baby with intense skin contact (the 'kangaroo position' ) has a clear positive effect on the physical and mental development of newborn and premature babies. The intense skin contact will also enormously strengthen the parent-child bond and foster milk production. That is why after birth, a baby is traditionally placed on the breast of the mother in order to foster this intense skin contact. In practice in the clinical environment of the hospital or the incubator department it is not always easy to achieve this necessary skin contact in a simple, comfortable and safe way.

Products that have been designed to enable skin contact between the mother (parent) and the newborn or premature baby are already known. Some are derived from a T-shirt and consist of a closed sheath that fits around the upper body leaving the shoulders free and in which the baby is positioned against the breast of the mother.

Others consist of a sheath to which two sleeves are attached in which the arms of the mother are inserted and which are fastened over the shoulders so that they are no longer free, but also hold up the sheath in which the baby is placed. Others consist of a sheath that is held up by means of shoulder straps.

A disadvantage of the existing products is that they are made in different stock sizes, just like ordinary items of clothing, and are not suitable for all sizes.

Another disadvantage of existing products is that they are made from fabrics that are used for ordinary clothing, but which are not suitable for a hospital environment or maternity clinic where higher washing temperatures are used for hygienic reasons.

An additional disadvantage is that they are not easy to put on when the mother of the child is connected to tubes or on a drip, as often happens in maternity clinics when the mother has to stay in a lying position, after the birth for example .

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a solution to the aforementioned and other disadvantages, by providing a sling for babies, characterised in that the sling comprises a back panel with two upright sides, of which one upright side is attached to a wide wraparound panel over the entire upright side, and to three short tie tapes distributed over the entire upright side, and of which the other upright side is connected to a second, less wide but longer, wraparound panel over a part of the other upright side, and to two longer tie tapes distributed over a part of the other upright side. Preferably the sling is made exclusively from natural fibres .

An advantage of natural fibres is that they are good for the skin of the mother and baby and offer comfort to both.

Preferably the sling is made from a material that is resistant to washing at high temperature (60°C).

An advantage of such materials is that they make the sling suitable for use in hospitals or maternity clinics and enable the sling to be washed at the required high temperatures .

Preferably all edges of the back panel, the wraparound panels and the tie tapes are folded back and finished with stitching.

An advantage of this finish is that it prevents the edges of the panels from fraying through use or repeated washing and that the sling continues to provide better support for the baby being carried. Preferably all vertices of the wraparound panels and tie tapes are reinforced diagonally with stitching. An advantage of such a reinforcement of the vertices of the panels and tapes is that it prevents the hems from coming loose at the vertices and that the vertices are more resistant to the tying of knots. A smaller variant of the sling is provided with a back panel that is 42 cm wide and 54 cm high, a wide wraparound panel that is 54 cm high and 80 cm long, and a less wide wraparound panel that is 34 cm high and 85 cm long, and two tie tapes on the left of the mother that are 24 cm high and 85 cm long.

A larger variant of the sling is provided with a back panel that is 49 cm wide and 60 cm high, a wide wraparound panel that is 60 cm high and 87 cm long, and a less wide wraparound panel that is 36 cm high and 92 cm long, and with two tie tapes on the left of the mother that are 26 cm high and 92 cm long.

An advantage of these dimensions is that they enable the baby to be firmly and doubly swaddled together with the mother, so that a pouch occurs in which the baby can be kept in skin contact with the mother.

Preferably the three tie tapes on the right of the mother are 21 cm high and 55 cm long, and this for both variants, and the two tie tapes on the left of the mother are 24 cm high and 85 cm long in the smaller variant and 26 cm high and 92 cm long in the larger variant. An advantage of these dimensions for the tie tapes is that they are thus long enough to make a firm knot with them, after the mother and child have been swaddled.

With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of a sling for babies according to the invention is described hereinafter by way of an example, without any limiting nature, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a sling according to the invention with which a mother stays in contact with her baby;

figure 2 shows a top view of a flat opened sling according to the invention;

figure 3 shows a perspective view of the sling according to the invention, with the two wraparound panels folded out of the plane of the sling;

figures 4 to 9 inclusive show successive steps of a method for using a sling according to the invention.

Figure 1 schematically shows a sling 1 according to the invention, whereby a baby 2 is carried by its mother 3 on her breast and whereby skin contact between the mother and baby is possible.

Figure 2 shows the sling 1 according to the invention in a flat opened situation whereby the sling consists of the following panels and tapes: a back panel 4 with two upright sides 5, 6, of which one upright side 5 is connected to a wide wraparound panel 7 over the entire upright side and to three short tie tapes 8, 9, 10 distributed over and attached to the entire upright side 5 and located under the wide wraparound panel 7, and of which the other upright side 6 is connected to a second less wide but longer wraparound panel 11, over a part of the upright side 6, and to two long tie tapes 12, 13 distributed over and attached to a part of this other upright side 6, and whereby the longer tie tapes 12, 13 are located partly under the less wide wraparound panel 7.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the sling 1 according to the invention, whereby both the wide wraparound panel 7 and the less wide but longer wraparound panel 11 are folded out of the plane of the sling, and whereby the three short tie tapes 8, 9, 10 are partly visible and attached to the one upright side 5 of the back panel 4 and the two longer tie tapes 12, 13 are visible and attached to the other upright side 6 of the back panel 4.

Figure 4 shows a first step in the use of the sling 1 according to the invention, in this case on a bed 14 in a maternity clinic, for example, on which the sling is laid out with its back panel 4 in the middle of the bed and the wide wraparound panel 7 on the right of the mother who takes her place on the bed 14, and the less wide wraparound panel 11 on the left of the mother. Figure 5 shows a second step in the use of the sling 1, whereby a mother 3 lies on her back on the bed 14 such that the top edge 15 of the sling 1 is under the axillae 16 of the mother, after which her baby 2 is placed on her breast.

Figure 6 shows a third step in the use of the sling 1, whereby the wide wraparound panel 7 on the right of the mother is folded back over the mother 3 and the baby 2 and is fastened along the left side under the back of the mother 3. Figure 7 shows a fourth step in the use of the sling 1, whereby the less wide but longer wraparound panel 11 is folded back on the left side of the mother over the mother 3 and the baby 2 and is tied along the right of the mother 3 with the middle short tie tape 9 on the right of the mother 3.

Figure 8 shows a fifth step in the use of the sling 1, whereby the bottom longer tie tape 13 is folded back on the left of the mother around the mother 3 and baby 2 and is tied for support at the bottom short tie tape 10 on the right of the mother 3, under the buttocks of the baby.

Figure 9 shows a sixth step in the use of the sling 1, whereby the top longer tie tape 12 is folded back around the mother 3 and baby 2 on the left of the mother and is tied to the top short tie tape 8 on the right of the mother 3 to support the head of the baby.

The invention also concerns a method for using a sling 1 for babies described in claim 1, that comprises the following steps: - laying out the sling 1 on a bed 14 or seat with the back panel 4 in the place where the back of the mother 3 will be, and with the wide wraparound panel 7 and three short tie tapes 8, 9, 10 hanging on the right of the mother 3 and the less wide wraparound panel 11 and two longer tie tapes 12, 13 hanging on the left of the mother;

- putting the sling on the mother in the lying, sitting or standing position so that the top edge of the sling 15 is at the level of her axillae 16;

- setting the baby 2 down on its stomach on the breast of the mother 3, with its knees drawn up and its hands at the level of the face;

- folding back the wide wraparound panel 7 on the right of the mother around the baby 2 and mother 3 and after tightening properly, fastening it under the back of the mother;

- folding back the less wide wraparound panel 11 on the left of the mother over the baby and mother to ensure that the stomach of the baby 2 remains against the stomach of the mother 3 and tying it to the corresponding middle tie tape 9 on the right of the mother;

- folding back the longer tie tape 13 on the left underside of the mother 3 over the baby and mother so that this tie tape 13 provides support for the seat of the baby 2 and after tightening firmly tying it to the corresponding bottom tie tape 10 on the right of the mother 3; - folding back the longer tie tape 12 on the top left of the mother over the mother and baby so that this tie tape 12 provides support for the head of the baby and after tightening firmly, tying to the corresponding top tie tape 8 on the right of the mother;

- The mother 3 with baby 2 can now adopt the desired position, which can be sitting, lying or standing, while the baby remains firmly in its place.

It is also possible to utilise the sling in the reverse position whereby the back panel 4 is reversed on the bed or the seat, so that the wide wraparound panel 7 and the three short tie tapes 8, 9, 10 now hang on the left and the less wide wraparound panel 11 on the right of the mother, this if the mother prefers to have the knots on her other side.

The advantage of the reversibility of the sling is that the sling can be put on quickly and the direction cannot be confused.

The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiment described as an example and shown in the drawings, but a sling for babies according to the invention can be realised in all kinds of forms and dimensions without departing from the scope of the invention as described in the following claims.