Cuddle cots aim to ease parents' pain

When we lost Andrew, we had about 4 hours to cuddle Andrew. Then the autopsy dept reminded us to send him down for his procedure. At that time, I was upset I was rushed. I wanted as much time as I could  with him. On the other hand, I knew the autopsy staff needed to do their work before breakdown took place.

If it wasn't for the autopsy, would I want more time with him? A cuddle cot would really be good.

A cuddle cot is a cooling pad that is placed into a bassinet to let parents have a couple of extra days with their dead babies, or "angel babies". They cost about $5000 to buy and import each.Jun 22, 2015

- You can donate on the givealittle page here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/cuddlecotforthehutt


http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/69276762/fundraising-for-more-cuddle-cots-to-preserve-angel-babies.html

FACEBOOK

A cuddle cot is a cooling system which is placed into a bassinet to let parents have a couple of extra days with their dead babies. There are very few in New Zealand.

Many of us can only imagine what it's like losing a baby. But for 1 in every 200 parents, it's reality.
The death of a baby can be traumatising for parents and most still do not want to be apart from their baby.
This is one of the reasons Wellington woman Megan McMillan has set up a givealitte page to raise funds to buy a cuddle cot for the Hutt Hospital.

MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ

Wellington woman Megan McMillan has set up a Give-A-Little page to raise money for a cuddle cot for Hutt Hospital.

A cuddle cot is a cooling pad that is placed into a bassinet to let parents have a couple of extra days with their dead babies, or "angel babies". They cost about $5000 to buy and import each.
The only alternatives are ice packs, which need to be changed often, or enbalment.
Mcmillan said after hearing about a woman in the South Island fundraising for a cuddle cot, she wanted to extend the opportunity to parents in the Wellington region.
"Knowing they only get a short time with their 'angel' before saying their final goodbyes breaks my heart."
At the moment, there are only a couple of cuddle cots throughout the country, she said.
A Hataitai woman, who lost her son to a rare heart condition when he was 15-days-old, is one parent who said the cuddle cot helped her through one of the most difficult times of her life.
The 38-year-oldsaid during her pregnancy she found out her baby was going to die very early in his life. Knowing that, she got in touch with Sands, an organisation that helps support parents and families after the death of a baby or infant, who told her about cuddle cots.
"It just didn't feel right. When you lose a baby, you still have that parental instinct to keep your baby close to you and the cuddle cot enabled us to do that. He didn't leave our side for a second and it meant we got to have him at home for four days," she said.
"Over the days we did see changes - he wasn't perfectly preserved - but it made it easier for me to come to terms with the fact that my baby had died."
Otaki woman Michelle Gilbertson and her partner, Shane, had their baby taken from them less than 24 hours after she gave birth.
Their baby, Jesse, died during delivery from suffocation and because it was a sudden death, his body had to go with the coroner and funeral director.
Two days later, when he finally arrived home, he was covered in formaldehyde.
"He came home for one night ... he had shrunk and was purple and red and he had an odour," Gilbertson remembers.
"I didn't know about these cuddle cots, but had it been an option, I would have taken it. We would have had him for a few more days."
"It would have been nicer to have him at home for a while longer."
- You can donate on the givealittle page here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/cuddlecotforthehutt

 - Stuff

http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/cuddle-cots-aim-to-ease-parents-pain-2016010818#axzz3wh18McJS

Two Auckland mothers who have lost babies are trying a new method to ease other bereaved parents' grief.

They've introduced cuddle cots, which give parents extra time to say goodbye to their babies.

It's every parent's worst nightmare – leaving the maternity hospital empty-handed.

That's what happened to Claire Montgomerie and Kirsten Hartley, who lost their babies Kate and Emma two years ago.

Added to the heartbreak and pain, their babies were kept on ice-packs, wet and in the hospital refrigerators.

"All you want to do is cuddle them and keep them close," Ms Montgomerie says.

And they wanted time to say a final goodbye to their wee angels.

To help ease the pain for others going through similar tragedy, Ms Montgomerie and Ms Hartley decided to fundraise $7000 so Auckland could have a cuddle cot, which preserves a baby for a couple of days.

"They're not life-saving pieces of equipment, so they're not at the top of a procurement list for a hospital, but for a parent they're life-changing," says Ms Montgomerie.

Sadly, losing a baby is a reality for one in 200 New Zealand parents.

There are now 12 cuddle cots around the country. With an average of 700 infant and perinatal deaths every year, the goal is to have at least one in every hospital.

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/cuddle-cots-aim-to-ease-parents-pain-2016010818#ixzz3whBUl7SF