Suffolk mother helps others with a donation of a CuddleCot
The staff of Sentara Obici Hospital in Virginia is filled with gratitude after resident Victoria Harris donated a new CuddleCot to help mothers grieving the loss of a child at birth.
A dedication ceremony was held at the hospital with the Obici staff members joining Victoria, her husband Brandon and their daughter Vivian Rose. The donation honours Victoria’s late daughter Rose Harris who was stillborn in November 2019.
Victoria reflected on the tragedy that inspired her to take action for other grieving mothers.
“After I delivered my daughter via cesarean, I was unfortunately admitted to the intensive care unit due to an unknown uterine tumor and blood loss,” she recounted. “While in the intensive care unit, I was unconscious for a few days. If it was not for the hospital having a CuddleCot available, my husband and I would have never been given the time with our daughter that we desperately needed.”
“The goal was to donate a CuddleCot to a local hospital that perhaps wasn’t equipped with one. With the help of many amazing local businesses, I was able to gather gift certificates, merchandise and services to make a raffle basket to raffle off,” she said. “The proceeds, along with donations, is what ultimately we used to purchase the CuddleCot.”
Sentara Obici Bereavement Coordinator Dawn Eure said, “Many times, patients are tired or simply overwhelmed and they need time to recover and begin to process this life-changing event. So, this cot allows them the time to spend with their baby and not feel rushed.”
The CuddleCot allows mothers time to make decisions and also “hold their baby, bathe, [and] dress” and gives them the opportunity to bond and start the process of grieving the loss of their loved one. The hospital’s first CuddleCot was donated by Kennedy’s Angel Gowns and is a great asset to Obici staff caring for bereaved mothers.
Prior to Victoria’s donation, the hospital would have to choose which stillborn child to preserve in the event of having two mothers in critical condition.
“If this cot can allow one mother to spend more time with their baby, then it has done so much,” Dawn said.