CuddleCot enables mum to spend six days with her son after he died
A mum has told of her heartbreak after she lost her baby when she was nine months pregnant just days before her due date.
Ceri Amphlette had been two days into her maternity leave when she began to experience cramping but never imagined what was to come.
Up until that point the mum from Rugby, Warwickshire, had experienced no major complications with her pregnancy and had no reason to believe that anything would go wrong.
When they arrived at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, English teacher Billy, 37, was kept in the waiting room due to Covid restrictions while Ceri was taken into the hospital for tests.
“They couldn’t find the heartbeat so then another midwife came in before eventually a consultant was called,” Ceri says.
“It was when they allowed Billy into the examination room that I knew something was really wrong.
“I felt totally numb as the consultant confirmed that there was no heartbeat and we had lost our baby boy.
“I can’t tell you how I felt, it was just a total blur of confusion and heartbreak, we had no idea what had happened.”
“It later transpired that I had haemorrhaged in the C-section and the reason for that was because I had something called HELLP syndrome.”
Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelets (HELLP),is a rare liver and blood clotting disorder that can affect pregnant women.
Typically families can only spend around 12 hours with their baby after they’ve passed before they need to be transferred to the hospital mortuary.
If that had been the case then Ceri would not have been able to spend any time with Rufus due to her condition. However, Billy and Ceri were able to spend a total of six days thanks to the CuddleCot.
“Thanks to our CuddleCot we were able to have Rufus with us for the whole time,” Ceri says.
“If we hadn’t had that I wouldn’t really have any memories as a family because I was so unwell initially.
“It also meant that we had time to introduce our parents to Rufus as well as our siblings.
“We got to do lots of the things we had dreamt about doing such as taking him for a walk giving him a bath and just take time to take him all in, his face and his features and the way he felt even the little freckle in his ear.
“It helped us so much because it felt like we got to know him a little bit. Before he was born I wasn’t sure if I would be able to hold him or even if I wanted to see him – I was very scared as I’d never seen anybody that had passed away. But we’ve got memories we can share now.”
During her time in the hospital, Ceri and Billy set up a fundraiser to raise money for more CuddleCots for other grieving parents.
Ceri and Billy are now fundraising for more CuddleCots in their son’s memory. You can donate to the cause here – www.rememberrufus.org