How an octopus is helping to keep preemie babies safe

[Michie]

Thanks to the sea creature's long tentacles, tiny premature babies are now able to rely on the octopus to stay safe.​

A fascinating discovery has shown how a knitted octopus is proving to be the perfect crib mate for little preemies.

When babies are born very prematurely they can still get up to medical mischief. In fact, in utero — in between kicking and prodding their mommy’s womb — babies are busy tugging at umbilical cords.

Therefore, once they’re out of their mother’s uterus, they still have that tendency to grab at things, such as a feeding tube or the monitoring wires that are vital to keep them alive.


Thankfully, knitting groups have come up with a perfect solution: the octopus teddy. As one mom of a premature baby, Nahla, explained in an Instagram post for Tiny Hearts Education:

Continued below.

How an octopus is helping to keep preemie babies safe

Thanks to the sea creature's long tentacles, tiny premature babies are now able to rely on the octopus to stay safe.

aleteia.org