November 19, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1QuFYtd. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Jane Chen’s Embrace, a laureate of the 2012 Tech Awards and winner of the 2015 Laureate Impact Award, is working to save 1 million babies over the next five years. Chen, who co-founded the nonprofit in 2008, explains why so many babies are at risk, “Each year, 15,000,000 babies are born preterm; 3,000,000 babies die in the first 28 days of their life. This is largely due to poor healthcare available in developing countries. Many of these deaths are preventable. Unfortunately, a prevalent number of hospitals simply cannot afford the high cost of current incubators and are in dire need of a low cost alternative. In addition, many of these births occur in rural areas, where electricity may not even be an option so a sustainable solution is needed.” Enter Embrace and its for-profit affiliate Embrace Innovations. “We have created a low cost, sustainable infant warmer that keeps preterm babies at an optimal body temperature. It works without constant need of electricity, making it ideal for rural areas in developing countries and has already saved over 150,000 babies. In order to help save more babies and reach our 1,000,000 baby goal, we have created a unique line of baby products for the US market called Little Lotus, which incorporate a proprietary NASA inspired fabric to keep babies at an optimal temperature, helping them rest better. We have a 1:1 model – every Little Lotus product purchased helps to save a baby in a developing country with the Embrace infant warmer,” Chen says. Chen is already making great progress toward her vision of a world where preterm babies don’t die for a lack of basic care. She says, “We envision saving millions of preterm babies worldwide with the Embrace infant warmer and through the 1:1 model with Little Lotus. We are also working on launching more innovative products to bring to the market to help reduce infant and maternal mortality.” Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1QuFYtd. Please consider whether a friend or colleague might benefit from this piece and, if so, share it.
#327: This Young Social Entrepreneur Hopes To Save One Million Babies