Beds – Support for users body or part thereof – Specially adapted for infant support
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-27
2001-02-20
Grosz, Alexander (Department: 3628)
Beds
Support for users body or part thereof
Specially adapted for infant support
C005S490000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189169
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention is directed to a novel, adjustable water resistant wrap which, among other uses, can be used to fold around a pillow for supporting a baby on a mother's lap when nursing. The adjustable water resistant pillow wrap and enclosed pillow can be releasably attached or secured to a nursing mother and used to support the weight of the baby on the pillow while the baby is nursing. This relieves upper body back strain on the nursing mother. The pillow wrap can also be used by nursing amputee mothers, paraplegic mothers, mothers with low upper body muscle strength, and other special needs nursing mothers.
BACKGROUND
Many mothers breastfeed their babies. Mothers' breast milk has been proven to be more beneficial to nursing babies than artificial milk formulations or cows' milk. To breastfeed a baby, the mother must hold the baby across her chest, or at the side under the arm, with the baby's head next to her breast. After feeding at one breast for fifteen to twenty minutes, the baby's body is reversed and the baby feeds at the other breast for fifteen to twenty minutes.
Usually, the mother must tilt her torso forward and to one side in order to assist the breastfeeding process. The nursing mother may also cross her legs in order to gain more elevation. These movements force the mother to bend her back forward, and to the side slightly. Holding the static weight of the baby, while nursing, also causes strain on the shoulders and back of the nursing mother. This can lead to poor posture and subsequent chronic backache problems for the mother. Mothers who have breastfed for many months frequently complain that they have to restructure their muscles and posture in order to carry themselves upright after having nursed a baby for that length of time.
Over the years, a number of patents have been granted for various inventions that relate to breastfeeding.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,713, Roston, granted May 17, 1983, discloses a support apparatus for infants. The apparatus comprises a planar sheet fabricated from a relatively high pile material to which a Velcro fastener can be secured. Located on the planar sheet is a pillow member having a central aperture and a dependent outer flange which angularly slopes towards the central aperture. The bottom surface of the pillow has a central section for accommodating the neck of a child. The underside of the pillow has a Velcro fastener to enable positioning of the same on the surface of the planar member. Also included are left and right lateral support members which are emplaced at the sides of an infant when his head is emplaced within the pillow. The lateral support members also have Velcro backings to enable them to be selectively positioned on the planar sheet.
This support apparatus is expensive and difficult to clean. Nursing babies frequently vomit and when this happens, the apparatus becomes soiled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,457, Sweet, granted Jul. 2, 1991, discloses a pillow having extended arms and legs, the arms being semi-circular and of sufficient length to enable them to extend either around the neck or extend around the torso of a human body and enable the pillow to cling to the body and support the neck or back. The pillow, and/or an external pillow case or removable cover, can be decorated to make the pillow an ornamental design or caricature, as of a person or animal. The cover can simulate an article of clothing and is adapted to permit the arms and legs of the pillow to retain their initial appearance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,351, Weber, granted Jul. 9, 1991, discloses a baby supporter and positioner that can be used by nursing mothers and any other person who wants to hold and interact with a baby on their lap while seated. The baby support pillow is wedge shaped to provide for a slightly inclined positioning of the baby and to provide for better alignment of the baby's head to the mother's breast. The baby support pillow has a contoured side to allow the pillow to cradle the person's body and provide a firm supportive surface close to the person's body for the baby.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,649, Pender, granted Oct. 13, 1992, discloses an inflatable nursing pillow having multiple air chambers which provide adjustability of air pressure and customized support for a child during bottle and breastfeeding. The device is anatomically shaped in a substantially yoke shaped configuration to extend around the user's torso and provide support for either left-handed or right-handed feeding. Each air chamber has an independent air valve to allow separate adjustment of air pressure. This adjustability allows customized support and adaptation for the size of the child, position of the user and child, and adaptation with chair arms, bed railings, or other physical constraints. The invention includes a removable elastic cover which provides a soft and moisture absorbent outer surface which can be easily changed and washed. The device is fully portable and can be deflated for storage or transportation and folded up into small dimensions for convenient carrying in a handbag or other suitable article.
A shortcoming with this nursing pillow design is that there is nothing which holds the pillow against the mother. Nursing babies wiggle and kick and hence the pillow tends to move away from the mother. In some instances, for example in the middle of the night, when the nursing mother is tired, she may doze off during the half to one hour feeding procedure and the pillow may fall off her lap, or the baby may fall between the pillow the mother. It is possible that the baby might suffocate because the inflatable plastic pillow does not transmit air.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,727, McCracken, granted Nov. 3, 1992, discloses a child care device including a pillow mounted on a baby blanket intermediate its ends. The ends of the blanket are provided with mating fastening means, one on one side of the blanket, one on the other. The blanket is wrapped around the baby holder's arm so that the pillow is on the upside and the baby's head rests thereon when the baby is being cradled by the baby holder. When the baby falls asleep it can be transferred to a crib mattress without disturbing it by placing its body on the mattress along with the pillow and removing the arm from beneath the pillow as by sliding it out. In an alternative embodiment, a sleeve mounting the pillow is utilized in lieu of a blanket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,796, Maher, granted Feb. 9, 1993, discloses an apparatus which aids in the feeding of a baby while the baby is placed face-up on a substantially planar feeding surface to various levels of a sitting up position of approximately 45° in angle. The feeding apparatus is a triangular inflatable support system comprising two straps which encircle the chest under the arms of a baby for securing the entire apparatus to the baby, a strap to secure the bottle to the feeding apparatus and a valve element which inflates and deflates the hollow triangular chamber with air for the purpose of raising or lowering the height of the bottle to control the flow of the liquid into the mouth of the baby for proper feeding. While the primary object of the disclosed invention is for the feeding of a baby, this device can be used by any person who cannot hold a container because of any physical or mental impairment that would limit one's ability to feed oneself.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,906, Fanto-Chan, granted May 28, 1996, discloses a support pillow that is generally horseshoe or U-shaped with a generally pear-shaped cavity in the center and a means of fastening. When used in a horizontal position, the cavity is large enough to fit around the midsection of a normal adult thus allowing for a back support with arm rests, a pregnancy pillow, a floor pillow for reading, sleeping or watching TV, or a nursing pillow. When the fastener is employed, the two tubular arms overlap at the ends forming a closed oval or donut shape. In this position, the pillow can support a small child in a sitting or reclining pos
Grosz Alexander
Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala
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