Creating a world in which all premature babies have access to an incubator.
Embrace has helped over 1,000,000 babies with our life-saving portable incubators. Please help bring our incubators to every vulnerable families around the world.
To find out more, watch our video and follow us on Instagram.
THE FACTS . . .
Every 40 seconds, the world loses a newborn to the effects of preterm birth.
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2.3 million babies die every year in the first 28 days of their life.
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Millions more grow up with debilitating health issues.
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Over the last 100 years, the baby incubator has been one of the most influential contributions to the decline in infant mortality rate. And yet, today, a baby dies needlessly every ten seconds.
One of the biggest problems these babies face is regulating their body temperatures—which is the primary function of an incubator. But incubators are technically complex, expensive, and require a stable supply of electricity - making them prohibitive in remote parts of the world.
Solution: Embrace Portable Incubator
FEATURES
INTUITIVE TO USE
TRANSPORTABLE
REUSABLE
WORKS WITHOUT STABLE ELECTRICITY
COMPLEMENTS SKIN TO SKIN CARE
EASY TO CLEAN
ANTIMICROBIAL FABRIC
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UKRAINE SPOTLIGHT:
EMBRACE IN UGANDA:
EMBRACE IN ACTION:
FORTUNATE
Nissima gave birth to premature twins, a boy and a girl. On her way to the hospital, her baby boy died. Her daughter was immediately placed in an Embrace incubator when she reached the hospital — and she survived. Nissima named her Fortunate because she received a warm Embrace that saved her life.
Embrace Team & Founder Story
Melody Westen, CEO
Melody Westen joined Embrace as Chief Executive Officer in January 2025, bringing over two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, development, and strategic planning. She previously served as Executive Director of Akashinga, an INGO dedicated to female-driven conservation in Africa, and held leadership roles at the International Rescue Committee and Back on My Feet, where she championed innovative strategies to empower communities and drive impact. Melody is known for her expertise in building sustainable infrastructure, diversifying funding opportunities, and aligning organizational messaging. Melody loves long distance running, is a certified Rescue Diver, and has been snowboarding since 1994. Embracing adventure and personal growth are key elements of her leadership philosophy.
Alanna Shaikh, VP of Programs
Alanna Shaikh has twenty years of experience in building and leading teams for rapid response to humanitarian emergencies and for long-term development of healthcare systems in low-resource situations. She has worked for USAID, International Medical Corps, Project HOPE, the World Bank and Save the Children. She’s a senior TED fellow and she holds an MPH from Boston University and a BS from Georgetown University. She has lived in seven countries, and is a published poet.
Ramakrishna Havaldar, Senior Director, Quality & Production
Ramakrishna brings over 30 years of expertise in medical device manufacturing, operations, and semiconductor assembly. He has been with Embrace since its inception in India, playing a crucial role in ensuring the highest standards of quality and compliance in our production processes. His expertise spans critical process management, risk mitigation, and regulatory compliance, ensuring business continuity even in complex and evolving global markets.
As a Certified Lead Auditor for ISO 13485:2016 and a Person Responsible for Regulatory Compliance under EU MDR, he upholds the highest industry standards, ensuring that Embrace’s life-saving incubators meet rigorous safety and quality requirements.
Board Members
Embrace Board Secretary
Embrace Board Treasurer
Embrace Board Chair
Co-Founder, Board Member
Advisory Committee
Charlene Dow
Committee Member
Jenny Barchas
Committee Member
Co-Founder, Committee Member
Jonathan Cohen
Committee Member
Stephanie Rabey
Committee Member
Embrace in the News
A nonprofit is racing to get its portable baby incubators into Israel and Gaza as crisis deepens
CNN - October 27, 2023
Acutely aware of the deepening crisis between Israel and Gaza, Chen is mobilizing her team at Embrace Global, a nonprofit she co-founded to help save babies’ lives, in a way that’s become second nature to her. Learn more
Portable Incubators Save Young Lives in Ukraine
UNICEF - July 29, 2022
Baby Sofia is just a day old. She was born in Sumy, Ukraine as air raid sirens wailed in the background. Now, against all the odds, she sleeps quietly in a warmer...The comfort and temperature of Sofia's little body is maintained by a special infant warmer. The American non-profit organisation ‘Embrace’ has provided 150 such devices* to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which has already delivered them to hospitals in Dnipro, Sumy, Pokrovsk and other Ukrainian cities. Learn more
Premature births have tripled in Ukraine. This nonprofit is donating portable incubators
Fast Company - May 9, 2022
‘These nurses are risking their lives staying with the babies so they can be in these incubators, meanwhile buildings are getting bombed all around them,’ says Jane Chen, CEO and cofounder of Embrace Global. Learn more
Humanitarian Heroes: Embrace Global sending portable incubators to pregnant women amid conflict in Ukraine
ABC News - May 6, 2022
Interview with Jane Chen, discussing doubling of rate of premature birth across Ukraine. Learn more
