FundraiseAug 9, 2026, 17:14 UTC

Peripear wins £74,974 Innovate UK grant for childbirth wearable

What's the deal? Oxford-based startup Peripear has secured a £74,974 grant through Innovate UK's Women in Innovation Award to develop a wearable device that aims to prevent perineal trauma during labour.

What's the endgame? Peripear is building what it describes as the "world's first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable" — a hands-free warm compress used on the perineum during the second stage of labour. The device is designed to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort. The grant will fund continued product development ahead of a planned first-in-human study.

Why now? Co-founder and chief operating officer Nina van Schaick, a midwife who trained at Oxford Brookes University, says the technology addresses a long-standing gap in clinical practice.

The problem: "There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it," van Schaick said. She co-founded the company with Eviatar Natan.

The signal: The award reflects Innovate UK's push to back women-led startups tackling underserved problems in health. Peripear's grant positions it to test a device in a field where, as van Schaick puts it, clinicians have long been left to "improvise."