Baby in an egg

A student at the Bristol Institute of Technology based at the University of the West of England has developed an egg shaped baby incubator.

Product design student Doug Campbell said that he designed the incubator in such a way that it would help nurture the bonding between parents and a newborn, a process he claims can be marred by current box shaped incubators.

'A friend of mine had a caesarean section last year and her baby had to be confined to an incubator for long periods. I was inspired to design my incubator in such a way that would allow parents to get close to their new born babies even when they are hooked up to monitoring and life saving equipment in incubators,' Campbell said.

The incubator can be lowered by means of a gas strut mechanism meaning that a mother can sit in a chair with the incubator lowered so that it balanced just above her lap so that she can touch and maintain eye contact with her baby - forging an important bond.