A couple who suffered the tragedy of stillbirth have bought a clever cot which will give other families more precious time with their babies.

Baby Hattie Joan Sowerby was born silently at 38 weeks and two days in May this year at James Cook Hospital leaving parents Beth and Matt heartbroken.

Parents of stillborn babies are often unable to spend as much time as they’d like with their child, but thanks to a smart cot Beth and Matt were able to get as much time as possible with Hattie.

The Abi Cooling Cot keeps babies at a lower temperature meaning the child can stay with their parents for longer, giving them the chance to grieve and say goodbye in their own time.

Thanks to a cot donated by charity Abigail’s Footsteps to the maternity unit at James Cook in memory of baby Delilah, who was stillborn at 36 weeks in April 2022, Beth and Matt were able to make precious memories with their daughter.

Now, thanks to their fundraising efforts they’ve bought and donated a second cot to help give other families suffering the same tragedy the same chance they had with Hattie.

The Northern Echo: The special cot will help give families more time with their babies.The special cot will help give families more time with their babies. (Image: PR)

Beth and Matt’s family decided to fundraise to buy the cot in Hattie’s memory and set up a GoFundMe page, which along with money received at Hattie’s funeral, raised £2,900.

Beth said: “Without an Abi cot in the Snowdrop Suite at the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough, we would not have been able to spend as much time as we did with Hattie.

“This was thanks to the Abi Cooling Cot that had been donated in memory of baby Delilah. We were able to make memories together with Hattie’s sisters, Ella and Olivia, which we are truly grateful for.”

“We are truly grateful to everyone who made this happen.  We hope this cot will give other families the precious time that we were so lucky to have with our beautiful daughter.

“Hattie, our darling girl, your legacy will always live on.”

Beth and her family visited the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough recently to officially hand over the cot and put a plaque for Hattie in place.

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The cooling cot will be used in the Snowdrop Bereavement Suite which offers parents a safe and comfortable space to spend time with their baby and receive visits from family and friends.

Tracy Pickersgill, Bereavement Midwife at the hospital, said: “I would like to thank Beth and Matty and all of their family and friends for helping them to reach their fundraising target. Hattie's beautiful cot is going to provide other families the opportunity to spend uninterrupted time with their baby and make those precious memories.”

David Ward, Chief Executive of the Abigail’s Footsteps charity, added: “When we had our daughter Abigail we only had two or three hours with her. Having to say goodbye so soon was heartbreaking and we knew we had to do something to support other grieving parents.  The Abi Cooling Cot we developed with The Bond Group allows people to have two or three days with their baby if they wish. Abigail’s Footsteps is committed to providing an Abi Cooling Cot to every hospital in the UK. Each special cot costs £2,800 and thanks to the generosity of those who fundraise for us we have been able to donate over 140 cots to hospitals across the UK.”