Kind donation to help bereaved parents

During a visit from SiMBA for a Bereavement Care and Memory Making Study Day, Heather Lawrence, a SiMBA parent representative, officially handed over a Cuddle Cot and photography equipment to the Western Isles Hospital Maternity Unit.

The donation was made possible through donations to SiMBA in Heather’s daughter Aeryn’s name, who was stillborn in April this year.

Pregnancy can be one of the most wondrous experiences for a woman.

Many women bond with their babies early on in pregnancy, especially when they feel the baby’s first movements and their own bodies begin to show the first signs of the life inside of them.

When a woman loses a baby during pregnancy and around the time of birth it can be a very traumatic experience for her, her partner and others close to them.

Catherine Macdonald, NHS Western Isles Maternity Ward Manager, said: “Through SiMBA’s generosity, the equipment will enable memory boxes to be provided to parents as a treasure chest of mementos such as “the blanket of love”, birth acknowledgement certificate, hand and foot prints and photographs.”

SiMBA through direct contact, conferences, word of mouth have now introduced their Memory Boxes throughout Scotland, England and Wales from the largest of maternity and neonatal units to the very smallest of hospitals making sure no parent ever goes without. SiMBA also gifts them individually to parents upon request.