How knitted octopus toys are helping to save premature babies' lives

NICU's are trying out a new way to comfort premature babies – by giving them a knitted toy octopus to cuddle.

It has been reported the soft tentacles remind the newborns of the umbilical cord and the safety of their mother’s womb.

The idea began at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, where medical staff said that the toy octopi calmed babies, led to improved breathing and cardiac patterns and, as a result, increased levels of oxygen in their blood.

They also reported that when the babies cuddled their octopus they were less likely to try to pull on the cables and tubes surrounding their incubators.