The Maidstone Lions Club has presented an Abi Cooling cot to the maternity bereavement suite Pembury Hospital.
The Maidstone Lions Club officially handed over an Abi Cooling cot to the Hope Butler Suite at Pembury Hospital, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust this October.
The new Abi Cooling Cot will enable families who suffer the tragedy of stillbirth to spend precious time with their baby at Pembury Hospital. The special cots are designed to keep the baby at a cooler temperature meaning that their child can stay with their parents for longer, giving families the chance to grieve and say goodbye in their own time.
The Abi Cooling Cot is produced by The Bond Group from Sheerness for the baby loss charity Abigail’s Footsteps and every donated cold cot includes an engraved plaque. The plaque on the new cot that will sit in the Hope Butler Suite at Pembury Hospital is engraved with the poignant message ‘Precious Time With Your Baby’
Marion Brooks, President of Maidstone Lions Club said, “We are very happy to donate an Abi Cooling Cot to the bereavement suite at Pembury Hospital. It was an honour to make a small contribution towards helping local families at what must be the most tragic times.”
Marion Brooks and Peter Hooper met Harriet Whyatt, Specialist Bereavement Midwife at Pembury Hospital to officially handover the cot to the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and see first hand where the cot would be used to support families bereaved by the loss of a baby.
Harriet Whyatt, Specialist Bereavement Midwife at Pembury Hospital said, “Thank you to Abigail’s Footsteps and Maidstone Lions for the donation of our new Abi Cooling Cot – the time a family spends with their baby when they have died is so limited and precious. This cot will help make treasured memories for parents who have to go through the most devastating experience anyone could imagine.”
David Ward, Chief Executive, of Abigail’s Footsteps said, “When we had our daughter Abigail, we only had two or three hours with her, and we were determined that parents who go through the same devastating experience as us would not have to say goodbye so quickly. The Abi Cooling Cot allows families to have two or three days making precious memories with their baby if they wish and we are delighted that yet another hospital will benefit from this important cot, named in memory of our beautiful daughter Abigail.”
Abigail’s Footsteps is committed to providing an Abi Cooling Cot for every hospital across the UK. Each special cot costs £2,800 and thanks to the generosity of those who fundraise for the charity they have been able to donate over 140 cots to hospitals.
To find out more about Abigail’s Footsteps, please visit: www.abigailsfootsteps.co.uk and to discuss how you could help fundraise for an Abi Cooling Cot please contact: faye.hill@abigailsfootsteps.co.uk
About the Maidstone Lions Club
The Maidstone Lions was chartered in 1959 and celebrated its Diamond Anniversary in 2019. It is estimated that over that time, the Club has distributed in excess of £1M.
Lions are ordinary people from all walks of life who enjoy getting together and organising good things. The Club welcomes men and women of all ages and has the moto ‘We Serve’
About the Abi Cooling Cot
Donations allow Abigail’s Footsteps to distribute Abi Cooling cots to hospitals across the country. The Abi Cooling Cot keeps the baby at a cooler temperature meaning that the child can stay with their parents for longer, giving families the chance to grieve and say goodbye in their own time.
The Abi Cot is produced by The Bond Group who are based in Sheerness, Kent and every donated cold cot includes an engraved plaque, in memory of a family’s loss.
www.abigailsfootsteps.co.uk/professionals/cold-cots-for-hospitals
About Abigail’s Footsteps
Abigail’s Footsteps is a Kent based baby loss charity providing support and counselling for bereaved parents and families as well as specialist bereavement training for midwives and healthcare professionals.
The charity was founded by parents Jo and David Ward following the death of their daughter Abigail Ward who was stillborn at 41 weeks.
Since 2010, they charity has worked to improve the way bereaved parents are cared for by hospitals and to better educate midwives about how to care for grieving parents. Sadly, stillbirths occur daily, yet many hospitals are not equipped to deal with the parental care required.
