Brittany Rutter has helped to bring a CuddleCot, a device that allows parents to spend more time with a child who’s passed away, to Marion this year. She began work to bring a CuddleCot to OhioHealth Marion General after losing her daughter in 2011.
To honor her daughter and help other parents in similar situations, the Marion mother—along with family and friends—began to raise money to purchase a CuddleCot to be used for the Marion community. Rutter said she found out about CuddleCots through an online support group. The device is used to keep deceased infants preserved so their loved ones have more time to say goodbye.
They cost about $3,000 each, so her mother, Gina Faulkner, opened an account at Fahey Bank and started raising money in 2016. After launching the campaign two years ago, enough money was raised through friends, family, parents that have suffered the loss of a baby, and the Columbus organization (Ashlie’s Embrace) to purchase the device for Marion General Hospital this year.
Advocates say that CuddleCots give grieving parents more time to make memories with their departed child. The device, which is manufactured in the United Kingdom, uses plastic tubing to circulate cold water under a blanket that moderates the baby’s body temperature. Without it, stillborn babies must be taken away within hours after being born. With CuddleCots, visitation time with dear ones can continue for up to 96 hours.
The device was officially donated to Marion General on April 9. Rutter said by placing a CuddleCot in Marion, parents will have more time than she did with Adalynn.
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Source: The Marion Star
