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Even in the early years, children’s beds represented a large part of the range. The full catalogue from 1910 listed 30 “children's bedsteads” made of iron and three models made of brass. And there were even three specific designs for hospitals. Once the youngsters had advanced beyond childhood, they could easily switch to a “bedstead for adolescents”.
Beneath the elaborate ornamentation typical of the time, an astonishing modernity is perceptible in the children’s bed from 1910 that you can see in this early illustration. The bed’s mobile design with small castors already boasts impressive features such as semi-transparent safety sides and a backrest that can be raised – basic principles that have remained similar to this day.
This cutting-edge approach has persisted through the decades. In the 1931 catalogue, a “standard children's bed, side panels with longitudinal bars, side panels lowerable” is listed as product number 309. This description could be applied verbatim to today’s Stiegelmeyer Cuddle children’s bed, which is of course several epochs ahead in terms of design and choice of materials.
The mid-1950s saw the start of the baby boom in Germany, and Stiegelmeyer was well prepared for helping the numerous little citizens into the world. The maternity bed with the number 5301 became one of the great classics of the company’s history. The bed’s first catalogue entry, in 1955, described it as follows: “Operational section (headboard) with removable footboard with sheet metal infill, with leg rests and numerous brackets, head end adjustable by means of Bowden cable”. During labour, the foot end of the bed could be pushed aside to give doctors and midwives unhindered access to the mother.
This model was presented to an international audience at the Geneva Congress of Gynaecologists in 1954, where it immediately attracted a great deal of attention. The Stiegelmeyer staff magazine reported: “Here too, leading international gynaecologists found this bed to be so outstandingly well designed that they were sure it would prove its worth in practice. Speaking from experience, we would have to agree, because wherever our beds are delivered, everyone is full of praise”. The maternity bed was subject to regular technical improvements – such as the addition of a “sacral plate with crank-assisted adjustment” – and remained in the catalogue into the 1970s. According to the Stiegelmeyer chronicle, even cinema star Sophia Loren gave birth in such a Stiegelmeyer bed, in 1964.
After birth, babies were then placed in a Stiegelmeyer bassinet, which could be removed from its mobile trolley and hooked onto the side of the mother’s bed. Presumably, the beneficial concept of “bonding”, requiring close contact between the parents and baby immediately after birth, was unheard of back then. Stiegelmeyer, however, had put this into practice intuitively. Another practical feature was the option of hooking several infant trolleys together: “It is not uncommon for three or four trolleys to be hooked together, and the cute little cargo is then transported through the maternity unit corridors like a goods train”, enthused the staff magazine.
When the baby boom ended abruptly around 1970, the economic importance of this segment declined, but as a comprehensive solution provider, Stiegelmeyer continued to ensure good care for young patients. After the turn of the millennium, bright colours and cheerful, child-friendly features came into fashion – as demonstrated by our Maximo children’s bed with its duckbills and by the Idaro infant trolley with its jolly bear castors.
In 2020, the first European standard for medical beds for children gave new impetus to the children and adolescents segment. Experts from Stiegelmeyer had also been involved in the development of the EN 50637 standard in an advisory capacity. A standard-compliant family of beds, consisting of the Seta pro junior hospital bed for young people, the Cuddle children’s bed and the Jovie cot, was launched in good time. The Stiegelmeyer team is particularly proud of the Jovie, as this immediately won one of the coveted iF Design Awards.
As in the 1960s, it is still possible to put together a complete Stiegelmeyer family room for maternity units, with the Jovie, the Libra partner double bed and cosy furniture, which are all in line with the very latest research. The height-adjustable Jovie attaches so seamlessly to the mother’s bed that a continuous lying surface is created for optimum contact.
In 1957, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer brushed aside doubts about the financial viability of pensions with the famous sentence: “People will always have children!” He was not quite right, but when people did have children, a Stiegelmeyer cot was waiting for them, then as it is now. When the next baby boom comes, we will be ready.
