Costa del Sol hospital becomes first in province to introduce CuddleCot for bereaved parents
The Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella has become the first in Malaga province to receive the donation of a CuddleCot for parents who have lost babies during pregnancy or at birth.
The introduction of the CuddleCot at the hospital’s maternity and infant area is included in the Andalusian public health system’s humanisation plan, which is being rolled out in this hospital and in all health centres in Andalucía.
This initiative, called ‘Oliver’s Legacy’ is the brainchild of a couple from Chiclana. Natalie Clayton and Manuel Moreno lost their baby, Oliver, in November 2020 and decided to launch the donation idea to hospitals, allowing parents who have to go through the tragedy of losing their child to spend more time with their baby.
If the parent or family is away, it also provides the option of getting time to say goodbye to their child. This is possible because the CuddleCot can cool and hold the baby’s body for a few days, so that parents can have time to say goodbye.
For Mabel Méndez, head of the paediatrics and neonatology department at the Costa del Sol hospital, “it is very important to humanise hospitals and, in particular, to humanise bereavement”.
“Providing that this process is done in an appropriate way can prevent pathological grief, since people need time to say goodbye, and generate memories.”