Special cot to support bereaved parents at Frimley Park Hospital

Frimley Park Hospital has been presented with a special cot designed to support bereaved parents following the stillbirth or neonatal death of their baby.

The cot contains a cooling system that allows parents to spend more time with their baby than would otherwise be possible, helping them during the early days of the grieving process.

It was donated to the hospital’s maternity department by national stillbirth charity Abigail’s Footsteps.

The cold cot, known as an Abi Cot, bears a plaque with the names of three babies who were stillborn at Frimley Park in 2016.

These include Aurelia Miles, whose mum Rebecca Miles, from Farnborough, attended the presentation with her seven-week-old son George, and Oliver Hart, whose parents Lorna Burgess and Anthony Hart, from Farnborough, were also present.

They were joined by Abigail’s Footsteps vice president and ITV newsreader Julie Etchingham.

Julie said: “I am very honoured to be part of the charity because I have seen some of the extraordinary work that it does, not only in providing cold cots to places like Frimley Park Hospital but in training midwives in bereavement support and providing support to bereaved parents.

“We all hope that this cold cot will be the one piece of equipment that will never be used, but if it is it will allow parents to have those extra hours and days with their babies that they otherwise wouldn’t have, so that they can build memories of their beautiful children.”

Karen Jones, deputy head of midwifery at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Frimley Park Hospital, said: “We would like to thank Abigail’s Footsteps for their generous donation of a cold cot.

“It will make a real difference to families affected by stillbirth or neonatal death at this important time.”