For decades, the evidence has been clear. Applying a warm compress to the perineum during the second stage of labour can reduce severe tearing by up to half [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. The intervention is recommended in clinical guidelines, but it is rarely delivered consistently. It requires a midwife to hold a heated pad in place, often for an hour or more, in a delivery room where staffing is already stretched thin.
A new UK startup, Peripear, is betting it can close that gap with hardware. Founded in early 2024 by NHS GP Dr. Verity Biggs, the company is developing a single-use, wearable device that adheres to the perineum. It delivers controlled therapeutic warmth and moisture automatically, aiming to standardize the warm compress intervention without adding to a clinician's workload [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. The company recently closed a £1.2 million (approximately $1.5 million) pre-seed round led by Playfair Capital, with participation from Zinc VC, SyndicateRoom, and Hermesa [Playfair Capital] [Angel Investment Network, 2024].
From clinical guideline to commercial device
The product concept is a direct translation of an existing best practice. Peripear's device is designed to be stretchable and non-invasive, maintaining a temperature of at least 38°C throughout crowning to gently support tissue and encourage natural stretching [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. Once positioned, it is hands-free, requiring no further action from the midwife.
The founder's bedside view
The venture is led by Dr. Verity Biggs, a practicing GP and menopause specialist in the UK's National Health Service [LinkedIn]. Her clinical perspective is central to the company's patient-centered framing. The company's website notes she teamed up with a collaborator named Evi to create the solution [peri-pear.com].
The market and the model
Peripear operates on a B2B model, with hospital labour and delivery units as the primary customer [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. The value proposition is framed for both the patient and the healthcare system. For the birthing person, the goal is a less traumatic birth with fewer severe tears, minimized need for suturing, and a faster recovery. For the hospital, the device represents a potential tool to improve outcomes metrics and, by automating a manual task, alleviate pressure on midwifery teams [Health Innovation Network].
Navigating the road to the delivery room
The ambition is significant, but the path is lined with the steep challenges inherent to novel medical hardware. Peripear must clear several high bars that have stalled many medtech startups:
- Clinical validation. While the underlying warm compress method is evidence-based, Peripear's specific device must prove its safety and efficacy in formal studies.
- Regulatory classification. Achieving medical device status, likely as a Class I or II device in Europe, requires a rigorous quality management system and conformity assessment.
- Hospital procurement. Selling into NHS trusts or other hospital systems involves long sales cycles and competition for capital budgets.
- Manufacturing and cost. Developing a reliable, cost-effective single-use device that can be produced at scale presents its own engineering and supply chain hurdles.
A quiet revolution in maternal care
The condition Peripear is tackling, obstetric perineal trauma, is remarkably common yet historically under-prioritized in medical device innovation. Up to 85% of women experience some degree of tearing during vaginal birth, with severe tears affecting between 3% and 6% of first-time mothers in the UK. Peripear's bet is that a small, simple device, born from a clinician's frustration with the status quo, can make a preventive, evidence-based intervention as routine as a fetal monitor.