Generous mum Niki gives the gift of time to bereaved parents

Niki Cunningham, founder of the Harry Cunningham Trust, has donated a ‘Cuddle Cot’ to the Maternity Unit of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital to enable bereaved parents to spend more time with their babies.

The Cuddle Cot is a cold pad that can be wrapped around a baby that has been stillborn or has been miscarried late in pregnancy. The Cuddle Cot keeps the baby cool, meaning parents can stay with their child for longer after it has passed away. This will give parents time to grieve and start to come to terms with their loss, as well as enabling other family members time to meet the baby and say goodbye.

Niki and her husband Jamie founded the Harry Cunningham Trust in June 2012 following the very sad and unexpected death of their son Harry Arthur Cunningham, aged just 26 hours. The Trust was founded primarily to fundraise for the neonatal unit at the RD&E, but thanks to the success of their fundraising they have since been able to provide support in other ways too, including the donation of the Cuddle Cot worth £1600.

Niki Cunnigham said: “It really is an honour to be able to donate the Cuddle Cot to the unit. I would have loved to have used it when Harry was born, but I didn’t get the chance. It feels like we’re giving the gift of time to parents, which is really lovely.”

Zita Martinez, Clinical Midwifery Manager at the RD&E said: “We are very fortunate that the Harry Cunningham Trust has donated this wonderful piece of equipment. The Cuddle Cot will make a huge difference for bereaved parents, who will be able to hold and cuddle their babies, prolonging those early moments and giving them memories to treasure. Niki’s valuable support has made this possible.“

For more information about the Harry Cunningham Trust visit www.harrycunninghamtrust.co.uk