A mother-of-two has donated a ‘cuddle cot’ to Lister Hospital in Stevenage, allowing grieving parents to spend precious time at home with their babies who have died.

A mother-of-two has donated a ‘cuddle cot’ to Lister Hospital in Stevenage, allowing grieving parents to spend precious time at home with their babies who have died.

Judith Pooni, who lives in Hitchin, launched an appeal to raise money to buy the special cot after reading in the national press about a mother and father spending 16 days with their daughter after she had died shortly after birth.

A cuddle cot is essentially a refrigerated cot in which a moses basket can be placed.

Judith raised £1,724 and has now bought and presented a cuddle cot to staff at Lister. The hospital now has two cuddle cots and allows parents to borrow one to take their deceased baby home for up to two days.

Judith said: “I have had two miscarriages and, while I wouldn’t have had use of a cuddle cot, it helps me to relate. I also have friends whose babies have died.

“The use of a cuddle cot is internationally encouraged by midwives, bereavement practitioners, stillbirth charities and academics and unquestionably helps families in dealing with their loss.

“Transferring to and from the morgue is now widely regarded as an outdated practice as it is traumatic for parents to repeatedly go through the separation process, whereas the cuddle cot allows the family to spend every moment with their baby - precious moments where every minute counts.”

She added: “When I first started fundraising I did not expect to reach the target and my original intention was to cover any shortfall myself.

“Amazingly, the community donated enough to hit the target in just a few weeks, when the fundraising page was set to run for three months.

“I cannot thank people enough for the generosity they’ve shown. Their kindness will allow grieving parents precious time with their baby.”