5. Prapela
Boston
Amount received: $25,000
Prapela received $25,000 for its “baby box” that is a non-pharmacological approach to help drug-exposed infants relax and sleep during withdrawal and post-withdrawal care. The box produces random (stochastic) vibration gently to stimulate a baby to improve breathing rhythm and relaxation during sleep.
Neonatal abstinence syndrome occurs when a pregnant mother takes opiate drugs like heroin, codeine, oxycodone (Oxycontin), methadone or buprenorphine. If the mother continuously uses the drugs up until a week before the baby is born, the baby will be born with a dependency, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. With the current opioid problem in the country, this innovation couldn’t come soon enough. One baby is born with withdrawal every 25 minutes in the U.S., according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Having a baby sleep in a box isn’t as out of the norm as one might think, either. It’s been a common practice in Finland since the 1930s.