Bereaved mum raises funds for chilled cot to help parents grieve stillborn babies

The McBeth family spending precious moments with their beautiful daughter Lily. Photo/ Supplied

A bereaved Christchurch mother is raising money for a chilled cot to give grieving parents time at home with their stillborn babies.

Claire McBeth was 21 weeks pregnant with her daughter Lily when she was told that her cervix had begun to funnel. Less than a week later she lost her baby girl.

"It was unexpected and not something I'd wish upon anyone."

Using the maternity ward's Cuddle Cot, the family were able to spend two days at hospital with baby Lily after she died.

A Cuddle Cot is a cooling system which fits inside a small bassinet, preserving babies who have died at birth.

"Those extra moments were something we'll always treasure," McBeth said.

The devices are imported from the UK and there are only a handful in New Zealand as they cost around $4000 each.

McBeth said having that time with Lily, who weighed just 472 grams and was only 30cm long, meant the world to the family.

"She's the child we had, but never had, and yet we'll have forever."

She said what would have been even better was if they were able to take Lily home for just a few days.

"My husband and I really wanted to find something meaningful in Lily's memory to be able to give another family a gift of being able to take their baby home, which is something we would have liked to do but the option wasn't there for us."

With that in mind, they decided to fundraise for a CuddleCot that funeral homes in the Canterbury region could supply to grieving families.

"The way it would work is that the Cuddle Cot would stay at one funeral home and other funeral homes would just put in a call on behalf of the grieving family to take it home for a few days.

"In Christchurch, and I imagine most places in New Zealand, there isn't that option," McBeth said.

Each year, about 160 New Zealand babies are stillborn in the last three months of pregnancy.

McBeth said couldn't believe New Zealand's stillbirth rate but she hoped this would give affected families some peace of mind.

Her Givealittle page has already raised nearly $3000. Extra funds will be donated to stillbirth and neonatal charity SANDS.