The Boundary Trails Health Centre’s obstetrics unit received a donation last week that will be a welcome support to families experiencing infant loss.
Representatives from Manitoba Angel Dresses presented the hospital with a CuddleCot, a bassinet that comes with a cooling system to allow families to spend as much time as they need with their child.
Susan Bruce, co-director of Manitoba Angel Dresses, says they’ve previously donated these units to hospitals in Thompson, Neepawa, and Steinbach and are pleased to be able to now do so at BTHC as well.
“Unfortunately, it’s probably used more than we think,” she said, noting it’s just one way the organization works to support grieving families.
“What we provide is little layettes for all the babies that pass away, right from 12-14 weeks right up to newborn,” Bruce shared. “It’s for them to be dressed in, because it’s so hard to find little outfits out there.”
The care packages also include caps and blankets as well as a keepsake pouch with a memory card for the family to take home.
The group’s 50 or so dedicated volunteers knit or crochet the items, or make them out of donated bridal and grad gown fabric.
The group supports its work through the sale of an annual fundraising calendar as well as sewing material donations from supporters. Bruce said they use what materials they can and sell the rest online to raise funds.
“We do what we do because there’s a need for it,” she said. “We’ve all lost or we know someone who’s lost a baby and we think it’s important that the baby is recognized.”
The CuddleCot is BTHC’s first, noted obstetrics clinical resource nurse Jamie O’Brien.
“It’s a very welcome addition to the equipment that we have,” she said.
“When a family loses a baby, the staff, the medical team, we really let the families lead the way through their care,” O’Brien explained. “What that means is that we provide them with options of how they want to be cared for during and after the birth of the baby.
“Having options of how to manage, cope, spend time together as a family are options they should be entitled to, and one of those would be to keep their baby close to them in the room for as long as they want. This will provide us with that opportunity because of course the baby can now be in the CuddleCot for as long as the parents choose.
“Sometimes it’s minutes and other times it can be a day,” she noted. “And if it needs to be longer because there’s family members that want to come and spend time with the grieving parents in the room, then we would want to provide that. We haven’t really done a lot of that—we haven’t been able to—and now we can.”
Manitoba Angel Dresses’ donations of clothing for lost infants go a long way as well toward helping families feel the community’s love during a terrible time, O’Brien said.
“They are showing these families who are hurting that they aren’t alone, and that there are people who can understand their grief and loss, and this is their way of showing that they care,” she said. “Aren’t we lucky that we have these women, these angels, to support these families? They are a community. That’s what it’s all about here.”
You can learn more about Manitoba Angel Dresses, including how to get involved or make a donation, online at manitobaangeldresses.com.
