Mum’s Royal Stoke heartbreak after giving birth to stillborn twins

March 8, 2023

A couple were provided with a CuddleCot by the Royal Stoke Hospital to take their twins Ayda and Remy home to grieve and say goodbye before the funeral.

Karis Thompson and Jack Burgwin are fundraising to buy as many CuddleCots as possible

Devastated Karis Thompson has spoken of her anguish after giving birth to stillborn twins. She had experienced a ‘straightforward’ pregnancy until her waters broke at just 20 weeks.

She had an ultrasound at the Royal Stoke University Hospital – and that’s when medics revealed there was nothing more they could do for her girls. She gave birth to Ayda Lane at 8.20pm on February 22 and Remi Love at 2.15am the following morning with her partner Jack Burgwin by her side.

Now they have started an online fund-raising appeal to buy more CuddleCots for hospitals across the region. Any excess cash will go to the Forget Me Not suite at the Royal Stoke.

Karis, from Fenton, said: “The CuddleCot was invaluable. It gave us time to process what had happened and to have a chance to be a mum and dad.

“It’s just a really small machine that you fill with water, it’s a tiny little portable water pad that cools them.

“We had 12 days full of walks, bedtime stories, cuddles and lifelong memories that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. It breaks my heart the amount of people who don’t have that opportunity or don’t know about the CuddleCot.”

There had been no signs of any problems in Karis’ pregnancy until her waters broke.

She added: “It was completely normal, nothing dramatic had happened. Then my waters broke at home, we rang 111, went to the hospital, and had an ultrasound. That’s when they said there’s nothing we could do.”

Read the full article here.

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