Mum launches appeal to buy a cuddle cot to help grieving parents

A mother who has gone through the heartache of a miscarriage eight times has started a campaign to raise money for a cuddle cot that could be used by grieving parents.

Mrs Jane Mann, 29, of Charles Street, Newark, had two miscarriages before her son Brandon, now 10, was born, and another three before having her daughter, Freya, 2.

She then became pregnant again unexpectedly but suffered a miscarriage at 14 weeks.

All the miscarriages have been devastating for her and her husband, Richard, 37, but she said one, in November 2015, was particularly difficult.

She said an ambulance had been called but by the time it arrived her son, Phoenix, had been born.

He was placed in a wooden box that was put in the fridge at her home for five days until he was taken to the undertakers.

Mrs Mann said if a cuddle cot had been available she could have used it for Phoenix so they could have spent precious time with him at their home.

“It would have made all the difference,” she said.

“It would have helped us to say goodbye properly and helped the grieving process.”

'Special time with their angels'

Mrs Mann has had two more miscarriages since Phoenix and is now in touch with a national charity, Angel Wings Baby and Child Loss Support, which helps families deal with the loss of a child.

One of its aims is to provide more cuddle cots ­— a cooling device that can preserve a baby’s body and so give parents who have suffered a miscarriage or had a stillborn child more time to say goodbye.

Each one costs £1,600 and Mrs Mann is trying to raise enough for one to be kept at the Co-op funeral directors on Beacon Hill Road, Newark.

If her campaign is successful she would like to buy a second to be kept at King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton-in-Ashfield.

“Phoenix’s death will be helping so many other families come to term with the loss of their babies and enable them to spend special time with their angels,” she said.

Anyone able to help can donate here.