MaternaLink
2026
Design for Care Award
Winner
Equatorix Life
Designers / Creators / Authors / Leaders
Benjamin Tan Wei Ting, Dr. Siti Nurhaliza binti Rahim, Karthik Shanmugam
MaternaLink is a relvolution in fetal heart rate monitoring during childbirth. In conventional monitoring systems, electrodes attached to the fetus are connected via cables to a stationary monitoring device. While clinically reliable, this setup significantly restricts the movement of the mother during labour. Changing position, walking, or using a birthing pool often requires temporary disconnection, interrupting continuous monitoring during a highly sensitive phase of care.
MaternaLink replaces the wired connection with a wireless transmission system developed by Equatorix Life, enabling continuous fetal heart rate monitoring without physical tethering. The system is designed to maintain clinical-grade reliability while removing the spatial constraints traditionally imposed on the birthing person.
In addition, the device is fully waterproof, allowing uninterrupted monitoring during water-based labour and enabling healthcare staff to maintain continuous observation without limiting the use of birthing environments that support comfort and pain management.
The result is a fundamental shift in the experience of labour: from stationary observation to continuous, adaptive care within movement. Mothers are free to change position, walk, or use water immersion without compromising medical oversight or safety.
The jury recognizes MaternaLink as a significant contribution to Design for Care, not only for its technical innovation, but for its redefinition of what medical monitoring can be. It transforms monitoring from a mechanism of physical restriction into an invisible support system that enables freedom, dignity, and continuity of care at one of the most critical moments in life.
