With the intention to ameliorate infant care in rustic regions, GE Healthcare in partnership with social enterprise 'Embrace' will distribute low-cost baby warmers in rustic parts of the country early next year.

The infant warmer, which resembles a small sleeping bag, will keep babies warm for hours and also helps defend them from hypothermia.

In a declaration, Mike Barber, Vice President, GE healthymagination, stated, "This product will be distributed in India initially to improve rural infant care as an alternative to more expensive warmers."

"The partnership with Embrace is an opportunity to further our commitment to maternal-infant care while increasing local access and reducing infant mortality. Along with our partners, we're addressing the specific needs of the local healthcare environment and helping to solve critical problems," he said.

Embrace Infant Warmer, which costs less than 1% of the customary incubators and functions without a continuous supply of electricity, consists of three constituents including a sealed pouch of wax, sleeping bag in addition to a heater.

The warmer wraps the body of the baby and the heated pouch of wax is placed in an adjoining space in the bag.

Jane Chen, CEO, Embrace stated that the pouch can be heated through an electrical heater.

Established by a group of engineers and MBAs from Stanford and Harvard University, the US-based Embrace aspires to provide every kid an equal likelihood for a healthy life with the help of a novel low-cost baby warmer.

In India, the product will get distributed by March 2011.

Every year, around 20 million low birth weight infants are born, and they are prone to hypothermia because of insufficient fat below the skin.