CuddleCot donation will serve as a light to grieving parents
The Birth Place at Iredell Memorial Hospital in North Carolina has recently received a donation of a CuddleCot to support mothers grieving the loss of a child at birth.
Brooke and Corey Schneckloth, who donated the CuddleCot, have felt this pain firsthand and wish to help others who have similar experiences.
“Our son, Theo, was stillborn on April 19, 2021. I’ll forever be grateful for the 24 hours we had together after he was born. Because of CuddleCots, we were able to get photographs, handprints, foot molds, and say goodbye at the time of discharge. Leaving the hospital without your baby is the most excruciating experience, but sitting in the hospital without him or her can add exponentially to that grief,” said Brooke.
“The loss of a baby can be an extremely difficult and traumatic event for any parent. Ways to provide emotional support and comfort is a very important service to have available for grieving parents. A CuddleCot allows The Birth Place team to provide a much-needed compassionate bereavement service where parents have the option of spending more time with their baby,” said Sharon Paul, director of The Birth Place.
Brooke hopes that this donation will help families have more time to say goodbye.
“While I wish no families join this loss community, my hope is that they will be able to say goodbye on their terms. I hope there will be time to memorise their child’s features, time for grandparents and siblings to say goodbye, should a family so choose. It’s difficult to fit a lifetime with your child into days, hours, or minutes and nothing in life is more precious than time together with the ones we love,” she said.
Brooke and Corey’s generous donation will serve as a light when other parents face that same dark time. It will also serve as an honour and lasting legacy to their son, Theo.
“I’m honored that Theo and we have a small part in that gift of time,” said Brooke.
The CuddleCot donation was coordinated by The Iredell Health Foundation, which is a non-profit organisation responsible for philanthropy for Iredell Health System. It supports the system’s programs and services through donor-centered fundraising. The Foundation focuses on raising community awareness of specific programs that need funding and provides individuals and organisations hoping to make a difference and leave a legacy the opportunity to support local healthcare needs of their choice.