In modern hospitals, during child birth if the baby’s head is having trouble coming out, tools are often used, and C-section is always a stand-by option. In many places sufficient facilities simply don’t exist and cheap solutions to helping with delivery are always welcome. Jorge Odón, an Argentine car mechanic, may be an unlikely inventor for a birth assistance device, but after watching a video of how to remove a cork that was pushed into a bottle, he realized that the same technique could be applied to newborns’ heads. Talk about translational medicine!

The Odon Device is inserted so that the bag grabs onto the baby’s head, after which it is inflated to create suction. By pulling on the handles while the mother pushes, the baby’s head is propelled forward without any rigid tools that can be dangerous to the child.

source:nytimes