Devastated mum buys Wythenshawe Hospital a special cot to help bereaved parents

A young woman, whose baby died at just 16 hours old, has raised over £2,000 to provide Wythenshawe Hospital with a ‘Cuddle Cot’ to help bereaved parents.

The Cuddle Cot, which is designed to regulate a baby’s body temperature after it has passed away, allows grieving parents additional time to say goodbye to their child.

Becki Wilson, 27, from Stockport, spent three days washing, dressing and photographing her baby Carter-James after he died as a result of an outer bladder infection on 29 February 2016.

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Becki, who said the Cuddle Cot made the devastating situation “hell of a lot easier,” decided to start a Just Giving page with her aunt Cheryl to help the hospital pay for a new Cuddle Cot.

Becki said: “In doing this, it doesn’t make losing Carter-James any less painful, but it does make us proud to have had him for the time that we did.

“Every family deserves time to say goodbye to their angel baby and the Cuddle Cot offers them this time.”

Becki explained that the Just Giving page was set up in part as a way of thanking the staff at Wythenshawe Hospital for the “absolutely fantastic” support she received.

“I honestly couldn’t have asked for better midwives. They made me feel at home, I wasn’t made to feel in the way and the care was really, really personal.”

Cheryl Wilson, 41, said the campaign was also motivated by the experience of a family, who also lost their baby at Wythenshawe Hospital, but were not able to use a Cuddle Cot due to limited resources.

Cheryl said: “Becki was really grateful to have the Cuddle Cot, but it was also very painful because she knew there was another family who weren’t able to say goodbye to their child.

“Some people think it’s creepy, but it’s your choice whether to use one. I think everyone deserves time say a proper goodbye, rather than the two to three hours that you have without a Cuddle Cot.”

Becki and Cheryl have now raised enough money to pay for the Cuddle Cot, which costs around £1,300, but they hope to provide the hospital with a second cot, which will allow parents to take their baby home to say  goodbye.