New film shows brave Derby mum talking about how special cot allowed her to bond with her son after he passed away

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 10/10/2017

A specially created film has seen a brave mum talk about a device that allows grieving parents to spend precious final hours with their babies after they have passed away.

As part of Baby Loss Awareness Week, which runs from October 9-15, Laura Elliott, from Chaddesden, in Derby, features in a film talking about how a cuddle cot from Central England Co-operative Funeralcare helped her after her son Cowen passed away after he contracted Meningococcal Septicaemia at just 17 days old in October last year.

The 27-year-old mother of two and her family were able to bond with Cowen by using a cuddle cot, which offers a cooling pad in a Moses basket to give relatives more time to say goodbye.

Laura’s story now forms part of a specially created film that shines a light on her and how the cuddle cot helped her at such a difficult time.

Laura said: “We first heard about the cuddle cot when we started to talk about laying Cowen to rest and were working with the great team at Central England Co-operative’s Funeral Home in Chaddesden.

“Once I heard about the device I knew it would help us as a family and it was quite simply amazing.

“It allowed me and members of my family to spend time and bond with Cowen and get to say goodbye and grieve properly.

 “The use of a cuddle cot will not be for everyone, but for me it was what I needed and meant I could bond and properly say goodbye to my son. I will never, ever forget being given the chance to do that.”

Find out more about Laura’s story by viewing the specially created film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN1Ss_qIOPc

The cuddle cot project is one of the first of its kind in the funeral business and the cots are available across the trading area of Central England Co-operative.

The cots form part of The Rainbow Service, which offers a free of charge funeral service for children up to and including 17 years of age.

Helen Lee, who helped spearhead both cuddle cot and The Rainbow Package for the Society, also features as part of a film talking about how the service helps families at their time of need.

She said: “We are extremely proud of our Rainbow Service. We can provide complimentary support for parents who have lost a child from 17 years and under.

“Parents are able to focus their mind on their child and creating memories instead of having to worry about finances.”

Baby Loss Awareness Week allows bereaved parents, families and friends to unite with each other to raise awareness about the issues surrounding pregnancy and baby loss in the UK.

People can find out more about The Rainbow Service by visiting www.centralengland.coop/funeral-services or calling 0800 454 552.

Notes to editors

The cuddle cots are based out of 10 primary locations across the entire Central England

Co-operative trading estate, but will be available to all funeral homes. They have been

provided by firm Flexmort.

The devices will be based at the following locations:

• Great Brook Street - Birmingham
• Stirchley -Birmingham
• Derby
• Heanor
• Corby
• Humberstone Road -Leicester
• Kings Lynn
• Peterborough
• Lowestoft
• Wellings – Burton

Photo captions:

Laura Elliott (1) Mum Laura and dad Mark with baby Cowen.

Laura Elliott (2) Baby Cowen with his sister Skyla and brother Ethan just one day before he passed away.

Laura Elliott (3) Baby Cowen just hours before he passed away.

Helen Lee, Funeral Business Change Lead at Central England Co-operative

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