Logan • A Utah hospital is among a growing list of medical centers that now have a medical device called a CuddleCot that allows parents to keep stillborn babies by their side in their hospital room for longer.
The device has a cooling pad that can be put under the baby’s body, giving the parents more time to mourn and say goodbye, The Herald-Journal of Logan reported.
Caitlin and Brandon Robbins memorialized their children, Carter and Lucy, earlier this month with a donation of the CuddleCot to Intermountain Logan Regional Hospital to aid other parents who have been in their situation.
The Robbins learned Oct. 26, 2016, their son, Carter, had died one week before his due date. The couple experienced the death of Lucy this past summer following a miscarriage.
“With Carter, after we lost him, we kept him with us for about three hours,” Caitlin Robbins said. “At some point you have to say goodbye. The CuddleCot is a mat that can keep the body chilled and allows for more time with the baby before saying goodbye.”
Designed by the United Kingdom-based Flexmort company, the CuddleCot apparatus includes a cooling pad that can be placed underneath a baby inside a Moses basket to slow the body’s breakdown after death, Caitlin Robbins said.
The couple learned about the CuddleCot and decided to raise the nearly $3,000 needed to purchase and donate the devices. They sold airplane necklaces to raise the money; a toy airplane became the symbol of their family following Carter’s death.
The couple will donate a second device to another hospital and is hopeful to sell the remainder of the necklaces to purchase a third.
Brandon Robbins said through his wife’s blog, “Freckle Eye Fancy,” the couple has been able to connect with people from all over who have dealt with loss and have come alongside them to donate.
“We have orders and donations from nine different countries,” Brandon said. “There have been people from 38 states and six of the Canadian provinces that have been part of this project. It is crazy how much of a following we have gotten.”