Incubator could keep thousands of babies out of intensive care every year, new NHS evaluation shows

New data from five NHS trusts shows the potential of an energy-efficient and lightweight incubator to prevent many of the 45,000 babies each year transferred to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) being admitted, whilst preventing parent-baby separation.

The evaluation demonstrates that the mOm Essential Incubator’s world-first approach of making a conventional neonatal incubator truly portable is delivering significant clinical impact on newborn health outcomes. It also has the potential to free up additional midwife capacity and deliver cost savings of over £325,000 per trust to the NHS over the next five years.

In the UK, 1 in 7 babies require specialist neonatal care, and even a small drop in a baby’s body temperature can have serious consequences. Each 1°C decrease is associated with around a 28% increase in mortality. To address this, five NHS trusts in England and Scotland evaluated the mOm Essential Incubator over a four-month period from December 2024 to March 2025. The lightweight, portable system provides a safe, thermally regulated environment for newborns, enabling clinicians to achieve and maintain body temperature quickly and effectively, whilst keeping babies closer to their parents.

Key results from the NHS evaluation:

• 93.5% of newborns reached normal body temperature within 60 minutes of being placed in the incubator.

• During the implementation phase of the mOm incubator, NICU admissions for hypothermia from Delivery Suite at Liverpool Women’s Hospital fell to zero and have remained significantly low since.

• NICU admissions due to hypothermia have reduced significantly across all sites.

• Projected savings of over £65,000 per trust per year, equivalent to more than £325,000 over five years, from reduced NICU occupancy and shorter hospital stays.

• 73% of clinicians said time spent warming babies had previously been a challenge, while 80% agreed the incubator improved the overall quality of neonatal care.

Ensuring newborns stay warm while keeping by their mother’s bedside is an additional critical factor in reducing distress for families. Studies show around 40% of parents experience anxiety or post-traumatic stress within a month of separation, and 25% remain affected a year later. The incubator’s compact design allows it to be used directly beside a parent’s bed, reducing separation and supporting early bonding.

Dr Anna Paweletz, Neonatal Consultant at Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “We have been using mOm incubators on the Delivery Suite here at Liverpool Women’s Hospital since February 2025.  The incubators have been fantastic in helping us keep babies warm and well following birth. The first few hours following birth are when babies are most at risk of developing hypothermia, which can sometimes result in a short stay on the Neonatal Unit.”

James Roberts, founder and CEO of mOm Incubators, pictured, said: “mOm was developed as we believe that no parent should have to watch their newborn taken away to intensive care for something as preventable as a low temperature. Seeing Liverpool Women’s Hospital achieve zero hypothermia admissions proves that innovative, purposeful design can transform NHS neonatal care: keeping families together in those critical first hours, reducing trauma, and giving every baby the best possible start to life. mOm does this whilst also relieving pressure on the maternity health system and saving a considerable amount of funds.”

mOm’s portable systems are now in use across a number of NHS trusts as well as internationally, supporting clinicians and saving lives in both established healthcare systems and humanitarian environments. The company’s incubators are being deployed in conflict zones around the world such as in Ukraine and other regions, demonstrating how lightweight, low-power devices can extend specialist neonatal care to where it is needed most.

Source and image supplied by mOm Incubators

Staff Writer