Cot Provides Parents of Stillborn Babies More Time to Grieve
In September of 2016, Jennifer and Michael Everett were expecting their second child while her husband, Michael was stationed at Fort Drum, NY. At 39 weeks pregnant, Juliana was born sleeping – a stillborn. To their utter dismay and heartbreak, they only had two hours to spend with their daughter and ultimately say goodbye.
After their devastating loss, the Everett’s ran into someone who had mentioned the comfort of a “CuddleCot.”
“We only had a few hours with (Juliana). Using a CuddleCot would have allowed us to spend more time with her and help ease the journey of grieving. It allows families the gift of time,” said Jennifer.
A stillborn is the death or loss of a baby before or during delivery. Approximately 24,000 stillborn babies are born in the United States each year and affects 1% of all pregnancies according to the CDC.
“This device is a cooling system that helps preserve the baby to allow more time for the grieving family and give them the time they need to say goodbye,” said Mindi Beebe, RN, OB Nurse Manager.
The Buffalo, NY natives wanted to ensure that families had the opportunity to utilize this cot at the local hospitals near Fort Drum; that’s when “Juliana’s Gift,” was born.
Juliana’s Gift was a walk/run established in 2017 by the Everett family to help raise money to purchase CuddleCots for local hospitals. Last year and this year’s walk allowed the family to donate CuddleCots to Carthage Area Hospital and Samaritan Medical Center.
“We’ve had families who have contacted us and thanked us for donating these cots. It brought them comfort,” said Jennifer.
“We’re incredibly thankful to the Everett family for this generous donation. Their dedication to helping those who have lost a child is heartwarming,” said Beebe.
Jennifer and Michael will bring their mission of helping grieving families to their next duty station at Fort Huachuca in May. With two daughters in tow, Maddi, 4 and Grace, 8 months, they will continue to promote the benefits of CuddleCots and help in any way they can.
“We tried to find something positive from our tragedy. That’s one of the reasons we established Juliana’s Gift; to have something that was more of a light instead of darkness in both of our lives. We want to thank everyone who has helped us purchase these CuddleCots. We certainly hope no one has to use them, however, for those that do, we hope it helps soothe those grieving families,” said Jennifer.