The Member of Parliament for Livingston has reached out to congratulate two local creators of pioneering theatre scrubs, allowing immediate skin-to-skin contact for babies delivered by Caesarean Section

Judges of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland Awards recently singled out NHS Lothian pair, Midwife Stacey Boyle, and Senior Charge Midwife Marianne Hay, as one of three finalists in the ‘Inspiring Excellence — Nursing Innovation and Research Award’ category.

The St John's Hospital midwives were acknowledged for their ingenuity in creating the efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable Cozy Cuddle Scrubs (by Stacey)™ — and the achievement has now been further noted by their MP Gregor Poynton.

He wrote: “I want to congratulate you on being named a finalist in the RCN Scotland Nurse of the Year Awards 2025.

“It is an incredible achievement to be recognised in this way, and you should be very proud of yourself — as I know your friends, family, and colleagues will be.

“The work you do as a midwife is incredibly important, and to have developed a technique that can be vital in helping a baby immediately is truly fantastic.

“I wish you all the very best for the awards — keep up the amazing work!”

Mr Poynton considers St John’s Hospital to be “a crucial part of the Livingston constituency, providing care and support for our families” and is “dedicated to supporting their vital work”.

The ‘Inspiring Excellence — Nursing Innovation and Research Award’ category spotlights “innovative practice and clinical research leading to positive change for patients, service users and colleagues”.

Since spring 2024, InnoScot Health worked closely with the midwives to realise their ambitions for the innovation to reach hospitals across the UK, possibly even globally, in turn improving neonatal care and outcomes for families.

Alongside ACCORD, NHS Lothian’s Research and Development team, InnoScot Health helped protect and register the design while liaising constantly with the different parties involved to ensure a high level of communication and progress. Cozy Cuddle Scrubs (by Stacey)™ are now well-placed to become more widely available through manufacturing partners.

Regulatory Project Manager at InnoScot Health, Paula Sweeten said: “I know just how delighted Marianne and Stacey are to have been named award finalists, so further acknowledgement from their MP only adds to their sense of achievement.

“The support for them and their ambitions after so much hard work has been incredible. I extend my thanks to Gregor for his kind words.”

Impressed following a stringent interviewing process, judges noted that the scrubs innovation “highlights the power of NHS-led solutions to improve patient outcomes and inspire future healthcare advancements”.

The category winners will be named at a special ceremony taking place at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on 12 June, while the highly coveted overall RCN Scotland Nurse of the Year 2025 will be selected from the registered nurse winners across the eligible categories.

Marianne and Stacey recognised that skin-to-skin contact helps newborns adjust to life outside the womb by keeping them warm while regulating heart rate and breathing, encouraging babies to look for breasts to start feeding, and assisting with immediate bonding and emotional connection.

With the surgical team focusing on the mum and the completion of the C-Section, birthing partners often step in to provide that much needed contact — but with the newborn placed on their chest and covered with blankets or towels, that does not always effectively sustain or assist in keeping babies warm, meaning they can be at risk of having to be admitted to special care.

Seeking a solution, Marianne and Stacey alighted on the idea of specially adapted scrubs for partners with an accessible covering to allow vital skin-to-skin to take place as soon as the baby is born with the addition of cost-effective, upcycled NHS fleeces as the cosy material and a secure Velcro opening.

Newborns can nestle inside the scrubs and reap all the benefits of life-changing skin-to-skin with fathers/birthing partners until mum/birthing person is able to.