Rotorua's Greagh Love has gifted two extra cuddle cots to the Rotorua Hospital - a resource which a local clinical midwife manager says would be on every district health board's wish list. Miss Love presented them to the hospital on Thursday.
A cuddle cot is a cooling system that discreetly sits inside a bassinet, and allows families to keep their babies with them just that little bit longer after they have died.
Rotorua Hospital was gifted its first cuddle cot in May last year.
Miss Love was motivated to fundraise for two additional cuddle cots after losing her first baby, Sunshine, during her second trimester when she was 16.
Now 19 years old, she said she felt the fundraising journey had all worked out and paid off.
"I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and now I've done something for Sunshine."
The day her baby died, three other women lost their babies too, she said.
Miss Love said there had not been any cuddle cots at the Rotorua Hospital then but, if there had been, only one person would have got to use it.
"I just don't want anyone to miss out on the extra time, that's so precious."
About $12,500 had been raised in a process which started at the beginning of November, she said.
Miss Love said the goal of $10,000 had been reached by the end of February but they had to raise a bit more before they could get the cots, due to costs such as freight. The cuddle cots have come from the United Kingdom.
She said fundraisers had included sausage sizzles, walking through town for donations and explaining the story, raffles, garage sales, plant sales, Sunshine's walk and a Give-A-Little page.
Miss Love urged people who lost babies to apply for a birth and death certificate.
If they did not, it would not count in the stillbirth statistics for New Zealand.
"If the Government is more aware of how many babies are dying, there might be more funding into the cause."
Miss Love said she was now focusing on herself and had applied to study nursing. "That will be my way to help people in a variety of different ways."
Lakes District Health Board clinical midwife manager Sue Finch said accepting two further cuddle cots into the health board was above their expectations.
"The cuddle cots would be on every DHB's wish list, we realise that Lakes DHB maternity unit is very blessed."
If there were one or more families grieving in the health board at the loss of a baby, the extra cuddle cots could be utilised.
"The cuddle cots extend the time that a family can spend with their precious baby.
"As a team, we view these cots as a gift of love borne out of grief."