Bears of Hope

A Cuddle Cot allows the family to spend every moment with their baby, precious moments where every minute counts before saying goodbye forever.

A Cuddle Cot is a cooling system that has been designed to fit within a Shnuggle basket and lies beneath their baby. When a baby dies, there is a short window of time for a family to create memories, say hello and goodbye to their child and the lifetime they had dreamed for them. These cuddle cots are such a gift for these families to access as they extend the brief time to be together and allow the family so many more opportunities to shower their child with their love.

You can help fulfill a placement in need by creating an online fundraising page and raising $6500, or donating or purchasing in full. This amount includes the cooling unit, the new shnuggle basket, stand, mattress, linen, embroidery, plaques & engraving, transport and administration costs. Once we receive the funds, we will work with you to place the cuddle cot at the next hospital, funeral home, or hospice in need.

Due to the number of hospitals we have helped fulfill across Australia over the past five years, the number of hospitals in urgent need has now settled. This means the cuddle cot you have raised funds for may be placed at an interstate hospital, funeral home or hospice.

Requests from placements ebbs and flows so there is a chance the cuddle cot may also sit in waiting to be placed until the next request is received in the future. This could be weeks or even months. You may wish to hold a different fundraiser to help donate bears of hope to families or to assist our Beyond The Bear support services, in honour of your baby.

 

Start Fundraising    Support a fundraiser

 

“Having access to a cuddle cot at the hospital I birthed my son Morgan, was a real blessing. It just gave us time. That’s what we ultimately lost, a life’s worth of time with our boy. So we needed to be able to spend some time with him, time without doctors, nurses and midwives having to come in or Morgan having to be taken. I think after all the heartbreak of things we couldn’t control, it gave me and my family the opportunity to at least say goodbye in our own time. I feel it was really important and I wanted that for other families.” Morgan’s mum, Eden.

The new shnuggle baskets have been specially molded to accommodate the cooling pad and hose and provide hospitals and funeral homes with an easy to clean basket, thereby reducing any infection control concerns.

Families spend as much uninterrupted time as they need with their baby, which is vital to avoid further distress. Repeatedly being separated from their baby and returning them to a traditional cooling environment is unnecessary and an outdated process.

Hospitals, funeral homes and hospices in need can also request to go on our waiting list to receive a donated Cuddle Cot from one of our fundraising families.

Email: cuddlecots@bearsofhope.org.au

“Families are amazed by how beautiful it is and what it does, and are so grateful to keep their babies close for as long as possible. I point out the link to other families on both the cot and memory book and it brings tears and a heart-connection that is so special.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Tess Wyld
Bereavement Care Liaison Midwife, Ipswich Hospital

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