May 2015

So a little update to the holo story as we are now in the 6th year since the holo made its debut into the world. Now with a patent and selling worldwide the holo has certainly made its presence known; just google ‘holo lilo’ and you will see the holo appear on all sorts of blogs, forums and review sites and on the holo facebook page you can see comments and pictures from many happy customers. It seems I have produced a product that has many more uses than originally intended. Tried and tested by thousands of pregnant mums, it is proven to be an absolute godsend for the relief of SPD pains, catching up on sleep, turning the baby into optimal position for birth and can even be used for yoga sessions, pregnancy massage and for getting your back brown on holiday!

Reviewed by the ACPWH and approved by midwives, physiotherapists, osteopaths, obstetricians and pregnancy yoga teachers by way of including the holo in their practises, the holo will hopefully, one day, become an obvious go to for pregnancy relaxation and a useful tool in treating pregnancy related pains.

“What a fab invention, wishing you all the very best with this wonderful product”
Amanda Wardle, Supervisor of Midwives, Airedale Hospital, West Yorkshire.

So the holo goes from strength to strength, who’d have thought it would be so successful as I dug a hole in the sand all those years ago!

Happy pregnancy to you all. Best wishes Emma x

November 2009

A new product has arrived in the world of pregnancy comfort. Invented by Emma Benson, mother of Olivia, 5 and Amelie, 3 it has been a long time in the making. ‘I originally thought up the idea just over 5 years ago, 28 weeks pregnant on holiday in Spain,’ says Emma. ‘I was aware that lying on my back with my tummy in the sun was not advisable as apparently your unborn baby doesn’t like the brightness in its eyes and will turn away in the womb. Lying on my front was just not an option unless I dug a big hole in the sand! It seemed obvious that all I needed was a lilo with a hole in it for my tummy to go in.’

Emma waited another 3 years and another child later until she finally managed to find the time and energy needed to get going on this project. Finding a suitable manufacturer via the internet and engaging in email correspondance produced a first prototype in April 2008. ‘The first prototype that arrived was enormous, the hole was too big and the actual size of the lilo was such that no one could have blown it up by mouth and certainly wouldn’t be able to transport it around via car without totally deflating it first.’ says Emma.

3 prototypes later and still the hole was proving a problem as even when not pregnant, anyone lying on it found that their tummy fell into the hole and a strain was automatically put onto the back due to lack of support for the pelvis. During this period Emma had applied for the Mumpreneurs competition that was being run on GMTV and was accepted as a contestant. Unfortunately due to her lack of confidence in the product at this point she decided to back out at the last minute.

The project was at this point abandoned, but at the back of Emma’s mind she knew this was a product that had a place in the market as it didn’t exist at present and was definitely something that she would have wanted when pregnant, not just for on holiday but for relaxation at home too. So surely if she wanted it someone else would too.

8 months later, inspiration came and again she contacted the manufacturers in Taiwan, hoping they hadn’t lost interest and provided them with a new design. This time a raised rim around the hole provided the support needed for the back. Reduced in size and with the added rim another prototype arrived. ‘This time it was comfortable for me, my neighbour and my Mum, although we weren’t pregnant, but at least it didn’t hurt our backs. So far, so good.’ said Emma. The next test was pregnant people! Luckily Emma had two pregnant friends. The first, Grace, 8 months pregnant, lay on it and she said it was really comfortable and would like to keep it! The second, Sarah-Jayne, 5 months pregnant, was a little sceptical but lay down on it anyway, her face lit up immediately and she said it was surprisingly comfortable and would definitely buy one when they were produced and one for each of her pregnant friends. Success!

On the back of these approvals, Emma decided to go ahead and order a first batch of 500. Now they are here. Sarah-Jayne now 8 and half months pregnant took the first one and is lying on it now. So with a Patent number: GB2471467 and a design registration in place it is time to present this new product to the world!