Zi de Bine Association brings the first CuddleCots to Romania
The Zi de Bine Association, together with the Independent Midwives Association, has brought to hospitals the first CuddleCot units in Romania, to enable parents of a child who has died to have the opportunity to say goodbye.
In the Clinical Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology Philanthropia support spaces have already been set up for mothers who gave birth to a child who did not survive.
Workshops will be organised for medical staff on the correct management of these traumas. In addition, the “Mothers without Flowers” project involves the organization of counseling groups for pregnant women and new parents.
The strategic partners of the Zi de Bine Association, Lidl Romania, E.ON Group Romania, UniCredit Bank, and Leroy Merlin, offered 35,000 euros for the project.
Melania Medeleanu and Luciana Zaharia, founders of the Zi de Bine Association said, “Such an experience cannot be explained in words, but we can certainly empathise and offer support to mothers who are going through such a moment. Those few moments when the mother can see her child, and has time and space to process the situation, can weigh enormously. This project supports parents who need support to be able to release the pain they feel, accompanied by a therapist specialising in trauma management.”
According to data from the National Institute of Public Health, in Romania, in 2021, perinatal mortality and neonatal deaths were 7.08 per thousand, totaling 1,280 deaths. Sadly, this means that many mothers leave maternity hospitals without a child in their arms, and the support they have receive has been almost non-existent.
The “Mothers without Flowers” project also includes the organisation of information and support groups for pregnant women, new mothers, and their partners, so that they can receive up-to-date information on pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, child care and, above all, mother care.
Irina Mateescu , vice president of the Association of Independent Midwives added, “We hope that through our project we can relieve at least a small part of such pain and offer parents who have lost a child, the time and intimate space for such an unfair separation, but also specialised support from a trained psychologist. We also offer interactive training sessions for medical staff to manage cases of mothers who lose their children, but also vicarious trauma, which can directly affect medical staff. Through the information and support groups, we support pregnant women and new parents with information and advice, according to international best practices and with evidence-based recommendations regarding pregnancy and birth, breastfeeding, newborn care, but above all, the needs of the mother and postnatal recovery.
Mothers who lose their children at birth are still mothers. We think it’s important for everyone to see this, whether it’s the medical staff at the hospital, her family and friends, or her work colleagues. We know from all our experience that these mothers need a lot of support and a lot of clarity, and we want to talk about it and create a safe, gentle and containing space where flowerless mothers can be seen and can exist, can have a bit of relief and access to separation as they need, as they feel.”
About Zi de Bine Association
The purpose of the Zi de Bine Association is to create communities, to support thousands of people in vulnerable situations, and create awareness around ignored causes. The association supports one NGO each month of the year and encourages people to donate their birthdays to a social project.
The operating mechanism is simple: at the beginning of each month, the supported cause is announced and the need and beneficiaries are described. At the end of the month, donors find out what happened to the money and are invited to see the result of their involvement.