Local Foundation Gives Mourning Families the Gift of Time
Shown with the CuddleCot™ are Be Still and Know Founder Kendra Nicholson (left) and Mahaska Health Partnership Birthing Center Director Heather Cook (right)
MAHASKA COUNTY– The Mahaska Health Partnership Birthing Center recently received a CuddleCot™ donated by the Be Still and Know Foundation in honor of all babies gone too soon.
According to MHP Birthing Center Director Heather Cook, the CuddleCot™ is an important addition to the department. “The CuddleCot™ is a cooling system that will increase the time that parents have during those final moments together,” Cook explained.
The CuddleCot™ offers comfort to parents who are mourning the loss of an infant by giving them more time with the child after he or she has passed. After a baby’s death, families can use the CuddleCot™ to hold, snuggle, and spend precious time with their child for hours and sometimes days longer than they typically would have been able to.
“It’s not very often that we deal with the loss of an infant, but when we do, we can find some comfort in knowing that this donation will help ease the pain of mourning parents,” Cook stressed. “We’re grateful for the support this donation will offer bereaved families.”
The Be Still and Know Foundation was started by Kendra Nicholson. She and her husband, Eric, lost their son, Jaren, in 2014 and later lost twin daughters through miscarriage. The mission of the foundation is to provide support to families dealing with any form of infant loss.
The foundation has identified seven needs that families have during those times. Examples include: the need for the child to be remembered, the need for privacy and their need to understand and know their full rights during miscarriage or early infant loss.
Nicholson said that many families are not aware of their right to care after a miscarriage. “I was fortunate in that I had the support of MHP staff and Dr. (Shawn) Richmond as our doctor. He encouraged us to remain in the Birthing Center and took time to walk us through procedures and rights I would not have been aware of otherwise.”
“However, some women aren’t so lucky,” Nicholson continued, “I’ve heard stories of women going to the ER at other hospitals during a miscarriage and being sent home shortly after to deal with the physical and emotional pain of loss at home. Some women have no choice but to return to work soon after as well.”
In addition to bringing awareness to the rights of families during infant loss, the foundation decided to help families by providing CuddleCot™ machines to local hospitals. “There’s only so much we can do to make these situations better, but we know that a CuddleCot™ can make a real difference,” Nicholson said.
Since the foundation’s beginning, it has worked tirelessly through a GoFundMe page and T-shirt sales to raise $2,764 in order to purchase a CuddleCot™ for Mahaska Health Partnership.
Nicholson wants to thank the individuals who donated to the foundation’s cause and welcome anyone interested in helping with further efforts to find their Facebook page: Be Still and Know.
“Early infant loss is not something anyone ever plans to experience,” Nicholson concluded. “It’s one of the hardest things a family can go through. But if we can help them in even the slightest way by giving them more time with their child, we’re honored to know that our purpose has been fulfilled.”
