CuddleCot to help Melbourne families through a traumatic time
AUSTRALIA. BASS Coast Health (BCH) and Gippsland Southern Health Service were fortunate to receive a CuddleCot from Melbourne family Kit and Blake Norrish, who raised funds to enable the charity Bears of Hope to supply CuddleCots to hospitals.
Kit and Blake lost their first baby Arlo on 2 January 2023, but were able to spend five days with him thanks to a CuddleCot.
Now they are giving other families the same opportunity by donating cuddle cots to six hospitals around Australia.
“This has turned from something negative to something positive,” Kit said.
“Donating them in person on Monday at Gippsland Southern Health Service was so fulfilling. People wanted to hear about Arlo’s story and what we’ve been through and to know that we’re giving something back to other families is so heartwarming.”
Arlo was born still on January 2 this year at Epworth Hospital.
“He had a blood clot in his umbilical cord and passed away in utero and I delivered him knowing that he had passed,” Kit said.
“It was traumatising but he was perfect other than this freak accident of having a blood clot which meant his placenta couldn’t give him the nutrients he needed to survive.
“Epworth Hospital had a CuddleCot which allowed us to spend five days with Arlo as I recovered from my C-section. It was the most amazing thing to help us grieve.”
“People grieve differently. We weren’t able to have a lifetime with Arlo, but we were able to have some time with him. If it wasn’t for the CuddleCot, we wouldn’t have been able to have that time.
Kit said the fundraising was their way of putting grief into something positive.
“Arlo’s life hasn’t gone in vain; he had a little life that will be remembered,” she said.
“Hopefully few families will need it, but when the CuddleCot comes out, they will see other families have gone through the same thing and realise they are not alone and someone else is there to support them.
BCH midwifery unit manager Relle McMillin said the CuddleCot enables families to have “as normal memories as possible” after experiencing a stillbirth.
“We had an older system here and are so grateful to Kit, Blake and Bears of Hope for this new CuddleCot that will help families through such a trying time,” she said.