Specialist Seating for Maternity Wards

New mothers on maternity wards require a combination of medical care, emotional support and practical necessities, during the joyous but sometimes challenging first few weeks of caring for a new baby.

Comfortable seating is of prime importance for maternity wards during the early stages of recovery, especially for mothers who have had a complex or traumatic birth.

This article looks at why comfortable and ergonomic seating is crucial for postpartum care, and what features to look for if your hospital maternity seating needs upgrading.

Jump straight to…

• • Why Maternity Ward Seating Is Crucial for Postpartum Care
  • Key Features of Maternity Ward Seating
  • Types of Maternity Ward Seating for Optimal Comfort
  • Enhancing Postpartum Health with Maternity Recliner Chairs
  • Safety and Hygiene in Maternity Ward Seating
  • Choosing the Best Recliner Chair for Your Maternity Ward
  • Maternity Recliner Chair Success Stories
  • Final Thoughts

Why Maternity Ward Seating Is Crucial for Postpartum Care

In the first few weeks after giving birth it is essential to rest, as the body recovers from what could best be described as an ‘ordeal’. Resting allows cortisol (stress hormones) to return to a normal level and promotes healing as the body recovers from the physical effects of giving birth.

Comfortable seating can help facilitate this healing process, giving the mother time to relax and bond with their baby, and support other neonatal activities such as breastfeeding.

Key Features of Maternity Ward Seating

Adjustable support

Having adjustability built into the chair helps the mother find the most comfortable position for feeding and holding her newborn baby. Having the backrest at the right angle helps find the optimal position for breastfeeding, helping the mother relax and reducing stress for the infant.

Comfort

Having good pressure relief built into the seat cushion is important to relieve discomfort from any wounds or tears and promote healing.

Easy-to-clean materials

Having chairs that are easy to clean reduces the risk of the mother contracting an infection, particularly important when healing from C-section or episiotomy wounds.

Types of Maternity Ward Seating for Optimal Comfort

Maternity wards are spacious, brightly lit and often at a slightly higher temperature to keep newborn babies warm. Seating next to the bed is important for the mother or their partner to use if they are keeping them company during an overnight stay.

Types of seating used by maternity wards are generally high-backed chairs or recliner chairs.

High backed chairs

• High backrest for additional shoulder and neck support
• Round armrests for easy grip and support
• Splayed legs improve stability
• Wipe-clean fabric for multi-patient use

Recliner chairs

• Reclining backrest for breastfeeding positions
• High padded armrests for shoulder support
• Winged backrests for sideways support and extra privacy
• Legrest elevation for postnatal comfort, and reducing swelling after birth.
• Easy to move on braked castors

Recliner chair and High Backed Chair

Enhancing Postpartum Health with Maternity Recliner Chairs

Recliners are very versatile chairs and helpful for supporting postpartum health and recovery.

As well as providing a comfortable resting position for the mother, the reclining tilt-in-space helps find the best infant feeding position, and enable bonding and skin-to-skin contact.

Prolonged skin-to-skin contact is crucial for the baby’s development and health, especially if they are born prematurely. As well as part of the bonding process between mother and infant, it also reduces parental stress.

The leg elevation feature is good for reducing swelling and improving lymphatic drainage.

Comfortable arm support is an important feature within our riser recliner range, The armrests can be adjusted to the right height for breastfeeding, and are padded for extra comfort.

Safety and Hygiene in Maternity Ward Seating

Safety and hygiene is paramount in maternity ward seating to prevent the spread of infection and keep mothers and newborn babies safe.

Seating features to help maintain good infection control include:

• Waterproof fabric – waterproof fabric can be wiped down and disinfected easier than material fabric can
• Minimal recesses and seams – stitching and seams can harbour bacteria and germs, whereas smooth, continuous surfaces can be wiped down quicker and more effectively.
• Wood-free – wood is porous and can absorb bacteria more easily
• Velcro-free – Velcro is another material used for seat and backrest cushions that can harbour dust and bacteria.
• Dismantles for easy cleaning – removeable cushions and components are useful for deep cleaning the chair

Vinyl is commonly used in high backed chairs as it is non-porous and waterproof. A good choice of fabric for the contact surfaces of riser recliners is dartex, a soft and stretchy fabric that is vapour permeable and has anti-microbial properties.

Choosing the Best Recliner Chair for Your Maternity Ward

When choosing the best recliner chair for your Maternity Ward, comfort is paramount, but there are a range of features that can go a long way in enriching the postnatal experience for new mothers.

Comfort Rise and Recline Chair

Functional and affordable, the Comfort Rise and Recline Chair meets stringent standards for infection control and tissue viability.

Comfort and support

To ensure comfort and support for the mother and her newborn, the chair is available in either single or dual motor. The single motor has the rise action and tilt in space, and the dual motor has the additional facility to move the legrest and backrest independently.

Ergonomic positioning

The positioning adjustments help find the most comfortable and supportive position for the mother for feeding, sleeping or other care needs.

The tilt-in-space positioning tilts the mother into a zero-gravity position. This is beneficial for the mother when tending and nursing her baby, as it allows them to rest back in the chair in a semi-recumbent position, promoting better skin-to-skin contact. Opening up the backrest angle also helps to find the right elbow and shoulder support when breastfeeding.

The waterfall backrest cushions provide a soft, supportive backrest. The cushions can be adjusted individually to find the most comfortable position for each person when caring for their baby.

Portable

Mounted on smooth gliding braked castors, the Comfort chair can be easily repositioned and moved around the ward to change environment or interact with other mothers on the ward.

Customisable

The vinyl fabric can be personalised with a range of colours, to suit the colour scheme used on your maternity ward.

Maternity Recliner Chair Success Stories

We recently equipped Bradford Royal Infirmary’s Neonatal Unit with ten new recliner chairs, customised to match their lovely purple colour scheme.

Serving the most important function, comfort, these chairs were a huge upgrade on what they had previously, and were a godsend to the new mums on the ward!

Bradford Royal Infirmary Neo Natal Unit

Final Thoughts

Creating a sympathetic and therapeutic environment where new mothers can rest, heal and adjust to physical changes is a key aim for maternity wards.

Seating is part of their physical environment, and as well as blending in with the style of the ward, can become part of the physical and emotional ‘care kit’ that new mothers and their babies need to thrive.