GB2443601A

GB2443601A - A breast feeding garment

Info

Publication number: GB2443601A
Application number: GB0622536A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ambia Begum
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-11-11
Filing date: 2006-11-11
Publication date: 2008-05-14
Also published as: GB0622536D0

Abstract

A garment to be worn over nursing mother's clothes that has an opening to allow a baby to breast feed while covering the rest of the mother's body and protecting the clothes of the nursing mother while breast feeding. The garment is constructed in a similar manner to a poncho/cape where the front of the poncho has two panels an upper panel and lower panel that overlap each other horizontally to provide a flap that overlies the breast area of the nursing mother thereby providing access to the breast. The lower panel 1e may be sewn to the upper panel 1f between the breasts of the wearer, and supported by straps 2A that are attached at the shoulder seams of the poncho. The straps may be detachably attached to the lower panel via numerous points of attachment 2B to allow greater accessibility if required and accommodate various sized wearer's.

Description

PATENT APLICATION

COPY 1

AMBIA BEGUM

AM-MA

MATERNAL COVER

AM-MA

Description

AM-MA is a maternal cover/breastfeeding garment to be worn over any item of clothing. It will also function as a protective overall when feeding a baby. Pregnant mothers who would like to continue wearing their pre pregnancy tops that usually ride up revealing their midriff can also use the maternal cover. In this case it will serve as a cover up of the pregnant stomach in a public environment again without restricting Government health advisors all over the world are all recommending that breast milk is the most nutritious in comparison to powdered /bottle milk. Most mums will attempt to breastfeed, however many feel restricted in doing so when out of their homes and may shy away when in the presence of others.

With today's mothers leading a very hectic lifestyle with work, social activities and other time consuming affairs it can be frustrating when breastfeeding or expressing is restricted.

Most breastfeeding mothers will agree that it is difficult to breastfeed in public while maintaining some form of modesty. In order to seek some form of privacy they usually will have to locate a baby feeding room if lucky otherwise a toilet or private room is required. Also when socializing with friends and family, breastfeeding often involves leaving the group for a certain length of time which can further the social isolation.

Overall most mothers may feel slightly vulnerable and exposed when breastfeeding in public due to lack of external clothing that facilitates privacy when breastfeedmg.

Although there is a more relaxed approach towards breastfeeding in public most mothers would agree that some privacy is appreciated when attending to natural maternal duties. Some mothers use Blankets or fabric portions to cover their feeding parts, however this is limiting in function and usability.

There are bra feeding tops /dresses on the market but the main limitation is that it requires you to wear that particular garment and still need to seek privacy in a public environment. This method can prove to be very expensive and also limiting in style if you want to accommodate a breastfeeding wardrobe.

The AM-MA maternal cover has been designed as an over garment to facilitate mothers who want to breastfeed and express in a public environment without limiting what style of clothing is worn underneath.

The cover will be composed of two front portions that overlap at the breast region.

This will allow access to the breast while the rest of the cover will help cover the rest of the body i.e. stomach and parts of the body exposed by the necessary adjustments made to facilitates breastfeeding. This will enable the mother to wear non-maternity clothes underneath.

When feeding there is the risk of the infant vomiting, dribbling onto clothes. In this case having g a protective layer such as the AM-MA maternal cover over the carer's clothes can reduce the need to change normal clothing due to any form of spillage from baby.

AM-MA will be made of washable and easy care fabric and thus serve also as protective overall of the upper torso.

Pregnant mothers can also feel slightly exposed when wearing a non-maternity top and part of the stomach is exposed. The AM-MA maternal cover can be used similar to a shawl /poncho over the top to conceal the stomach if it is undesirably exposed.

Statement of Invention

AM-MA maternal cover is to be utilised as cover, to aid modesty during pregnancy and afterwards when adjusting to motherhood. The function of the cover will be of a breastfeeding garment. It will help maintain privacy of the breast and the surrounding areas without limiting personal style of clothes worn underneath by the nursing mother.

There are breast-feeding garments available but they require that you wear that particular style and yet do not provide complete privacy when out in public. They limit the style of clothing that one can wear as well as being expensive for the short period it will be used for especially if a variety is required.

The AM-MA maternal cover can be used out in public as and when required, so that the breastfeeding mother does not have to wear specific nursing clothes and thus maintain their personal freedom of style Breastfeeding garments have existed in the prior art. Publication [FR2062905 AS 19710702] indicates a breastfeeding garment similar to a cape with an extra covering in the breast region. AM-MA maternal cover is different in that it has two layers at the front that interlay forming a access point which can be further released by detachable straps. Also the feeding infant would have to be enclosed under a fabric portion limiting the view between mother and child.

Prior Art Patent [4,458,365] is a breastfeeding garment to be used in the house or in hospital as a gown. AM-MA maternal cover can be used as an outer garment when out of the house.

Prior art patent [4,528,6991 a breastfeeding garment requires you to wear that item of clothing in order to facilitate breastfeeding. AM-MA maternal cover is a garment that will aid in privacy when feeding, however the nursing mother can wear any item of clothing underneath.

Prior Art PatentS [US 6,327,712 Bil/ Patent [US 2002/0184694 Al] is to be used primarily as a protective aid to prevent accidental spillage when feeding an infant. It does not provide complete privacy when breastfeeding an infant, due to exposure in the side area, also the infant will have to be hidden under the front flap.

Prior Art Patent application [GB 2413752 A] is a poncho with a detachable vest underneath. However the limitation of this design is that it requires that you have to wear the vest therefore limiting what else is worn. Also the poncho if worn independently to breastfeed over any other garment will have the limitation of not being able to see the infants face whilst feeding, there are no features of detachable straps and access of breast region via flaps.

AM-MA maternal cover will now be descnbed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

AM-MA maternal cover will take the shape of a poncho with the peripheral edges being either rounded similar to a cape or a triangular finish similar to a poncho. Also any other shape will be incorporated to accommodate the wearers appeal.

For illustration purposes in the following description I will use the triangular shape as the main illustrator.

Figure 1 Front view of when worn over any item of clothing underneath.

I a; a seam in the middle may be required to join the front upper member together.

1 b; line of stitch approximately few centimetres across the middle of the front upper member, where the front upper panel overlaps the front lower member, thus providing greater support for the partial attachment of the two panels.

Ic; this illustrates the front upper member the Peripheral finishing of the hems will be of an appropriate trimming.

1 d; the neck region of the front upper member will be continuous with the neck of the back member and will be fmished with appropriate trimming.

le; the front lower member the peripheral finishing of the hems will be of appropriate trimming.

If, the front upper member overlaps the front lower member thus forming a flap that creates the access point. Access for feeding baby.

Figure 2: diagram illustrating construction of the maternal cover. The front upper member has been lifted to show the design structure underneath.

2a; on either side in the shoulder region two straps are attached in between the front upper member and the back member.

2b; the region where the two straps hold up the front lower member of the maternal cover.

2f, access to breasts in order to feed baby.

Figure 3; rear view.

Figure 4; illustration shows mother feeding via lifting of the front upper member of maternal cover without revealing any other clothing that has been loosened or taken off underneath to necessitate breastfeeding.

FigureS; illustration showing mother burping baby after a feed. The maternal cover being used as a burping cloth to protect the everyday clothes that mother is wearing underneath.

Figure 6a: illustration shows a heavily pregnant lady wearing a non-maternity top and thus exposing midriff.

Figure 6b; maternal cover being used to conceal bump and thus concealing the partly exposed stomach.

Figure7: the maternal cover excess of material that permits movement of wearer without applying undue stress to the garment itself.

Detailed description

Maternal cover is constructed using three main panels.

A] Front upper member. This may have a seam in the middle. The neck zone will have a Partial opening to allow access of head and may have a further trimming to secure it in place when worn.

The peripheral shape will be either triangular or round in shape or any other appealing shape to correspond with the lower member and back.

B] Front lower member. The lower hem will be finished with appropriate trimming and of appealing shape.

The top part of the front lower member will be cut in actuate fashion. This will form the upper hem and be finished with appropriate trimming. l'his is the region of the detachable attachment of the lower strap on either side of breasts.

It will also be elasticated so that it will support coverage of the breast when actually the upper hem is extended and feeding is taking place.

C] The Back portion will have peripheral lower hem with appropriate trimming and appealing shape to correspond with the front. It will be attached to the front portion, which will be overlapping each other.

The front upper and lower members and back portion are all connected by two straps of fabric on either side of the shoulder not in full view. The front lower member is not fully attached to the front upper member see diagram lb. The support structure holding up the top hem of the front lower member is the bottom part of the strap positioned towards the armpits. These can be removed individually on each side of greater accessibility is required while nursing. This attachment can be via either Velcro or hook or press-stud fasteners or any other means of enabling the garment to be readily fastened or unfastened.

The other side of the strap is positioned in-between the back portion and the front upper member. At this seam the strap positioned towards the shoulder region is not detachable.

The ways in which the front members are placed allow overlap with the upper member going over the lower member. As they are not fully attached they allow horizontal access through them. When worn the flaps will allow easy access of the breast and the straps will allow and thus enable a mother to access breasts while breastfeeding/expressing with minimum exposure of breast in public.

The material for the AM-MA maternal cover will be lightweight as well as easily machine washable.

In use if it is required to breast feed in front of others the mother may prefer to already have on or slip on a maternal cover. This can be done while holding the baby. The clothes underneath, on the side on which one will breast-feed, are adjusted, strap detached. Because of the elasticated top hem of the upper lower member it will not droop downwards causing unnecessary exposure of the breast instead it will hold the shape around the breast. The maternal cover front upper member will hide this exposure from view from onlookers. The upper flap is slightly lifted [2f] on that side and the babies head positioned to aid latching on to nipple. Once latched on the flap can be held in place or left alone. Similarly one can express milk using the maternal cover as a camouflage.

Claims

Claims 1.An over garment to be worn for breastfeeding a baby,

comprising of a front and back portion, with the front consisting of an upper and lower member creating a flap around the breast region with support and access provided by detachable straps.
2.An over garment as in claim I wherein the upper member has a top edge along the front neckline, and continuous with the upper edge of the back portion, and a bottom edge, which is attached centrally between the breasts to the lower member and peripherally attached to the back portion below the upper edge of the lower member, so as to, maintains a consistent depth of overlap, and the upper member overlaps the lower member so as to fall below the breasts thus creating a flap with an opening on each side of the breasts hence concealing the breasts but allowing access for breastfeeding.
3.An over garment as in claim 1 wherein the lower member has a top edge consisting of a flexible material, so as to support the exposed breast and for ease of uncovering the breast, it lies just above the nipple and hidden under the bottom edge of the upper member with an attachment to allow a detachable strap to be fitted for securing the top edge into place preventing involuntary exposure of the breasts, and the bottom edge runs across the front portion just below waist level and is continuous with the bottom edge of the back portion.
4.An over garment as in claim I wherein the strap has an upper edge, which will be seamed, at shoulder blade level between the back portion and the upper member of the front portion, and the lower edge of the strap is attached by means of a fitting to the midway of the flap on the upper edge of the lower member of the front portion, and the strap is detachable and adjustable with numerous points of attachment to accommodate wearers of different heights and breast sizes.
5.An over garment as in claim 1 with the shape of the lower parts of the upper and lower members of the front portion and the lower part of the back portion being either rounded, triangular or any appealing shape.
6.An over garment as in claim 1, with the back upper portion continuous with the neck of the front upper member with the strap in-between positioned at shoulder level, and the side seam will hold the overlapped portion [at elbow level]of the front upper and lower member attached to the back member.
7.An over garment as in claim 1 with the back lower portion being just below waist level and having a corresponding shape of the front upper and lower members, the hems will be of appropriate finishing.
8.An over garment, as in claim 1 will be made of a suitable washable fabric and appropriate trimming.
9.An over garment as in claim I with the neck finishing being of a suitable opening and appropriate finish of hem both at neck and at periphery.

1O.An over garment as in claim I will serve as an over garment coverage of the upper torso of carer when taking care of a baby 11.An over garment as in claim 1 will provide modesty to heavily pregnant mother functioning as a over garment to cover exposure of the stomach having worn non-maternity clothing underneath