Bayhealth Dedicates CuddleCot in Recognition of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Month

As part of its recognition of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Month, Bayhealth held a ceremony on Oct. 9 to dedicate a CuddleCot that was previously donated by Katy Towery in memory of her son Greyson who was born “sleeping” at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus in June. 

A CuddleCot is a cooling bassinet that allows mothers and other loved ones to spend more time with their stillborn babies or infants who are lost shortly after birth. This is the first and only CuddleCot Bayhealth has thanks to the generosity of Towery and her friends and family. The CuddleCot was purchased and donated through Our Baby’s Legacy, a nonprofit that supports families who have experienced a pregnancy or infant loss, and its program that puts CuddleCots into hospitals in a baby’s honor. 

“This is a very generous gift. So far, we have used it three times to help families who have experienced a loss,” said Kathryn Starr Lynch, BSN, RNC-OB, senior nurse manager of Women’s and Children’s Services at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus. 

Towery was only expected to raise $1,000 of the $3,000 required to purchase and donate the CuddleCot because two other families had each raised $1,000, and their babies’ names would have appeared on the CuddleCot box plaque along with Greyson’s. However, when Towery and her mom decided to do a Facebook fundraiser they quickly raised all $3,000. 

“The first day we raised $500, and overnight it doubled to $1,000, and in less than a week we had raised the full $3,000,” explained Towery, who also emphasized she didn’t donate the CuddleCot for recognition but simply to honor the memory of her son and to help other families who undergo a similar experience. Just as Towery was able to raise more money and in a much shorter timeframe than she ever imagined, the CuddleCot also arrived at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus in record time. “It also happened to be delivered the day before Greyson’s due date, and another family who experienced a loss was able to use it on his due date,” said Towery. 

“There are not enough words to express how grateful I am to the staff at Bayhealth—from the midwives to the nurses and everyone else, they all were there for me and Greyson, and I was never alone,” added Towery, who continues to support Bayhealth patients by making and donating weighted stuffed animals, which are given to help them cope with a perinatal or infant loss. 

Visit Bayhealth.org/Maternity-Obstetrics to learn more about how Bayhealth cares for moms and babies in our community.