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In the early 2000s, Emma Benson was 28 weeks pregnant while on a beach vacation in Spain. She discovered what lots of sun-loving pregnant ladies do at that stage of baby bump — that’s it’s really not a great idea to lie on your back with your baby baking in the sun, nor is it possible to lie on your stomach to shield your baby from the sun.
It was then that a germ of an idea was born: A raft-style mattress with a hole cut out of the middle, specifically designed for pregnant women. “I knew that it wasn’t advised to lie on my back with my stomach facing the sun, as the baby doesn’t like the light. Lying on my stomach just wasn’t a possibility, unless I dug a huge hole in the sand! It seemed obvious that what I really needed was a mattress with a hole for my bump to go inside,” explains Benson, the English designer of Holo.
Benson launched the product in 2009 — after getting her two daughters through toddlerhood.
The mattress has a simple and unique design with a handy hole that comfortably fits a pregnant belly. It can go on water, but can be also placed on the sand, or even on a chaise lounge. And for those wanting a little prenatal pampering, it can also be used for massage sessions. The holo has been approved by England’s Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Women’s Health after a four month trial at John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, and has been used by physiotherapists, midwives, and prenatal yoga teachers.
Leave it the power of pregnancy to stimulate creativity and help expectant moms all over the world.
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