Cleveland, OH,
15
May
2019
|
15:30 PM
America/New_York

Ashlie’s Embrace’s donates CuddleCot to MetroHealth

Ashlie's Embrace has a mission: to get a Cuddle Cot into every hospital in the United States.

It's a bold mission but it is bold for a reason: to give parents of stillborn babies time to say goodbye.

Erin and Anthony Maroon’s first child, Ashlie, became one of those babies when she was stillborn at 41 week and one day in October 2015. She could not be kept at room temperature because of the changes that occur after death, but the freezing temperatures of the hospital’s cold room were changing her small features too quickly. After less than an hour with her, Erin and Anthony said goodbye to their baby girl forever.

Erin read about the Cuddle Cot as she was preparing to leave the hospital. Her response was immediate. "I was so angry and thought why didn't we have one of those?"

She and Anthony founded Ashlie’s Embrace’s in order to provide CuddleCots™ to U.S. hospitals so that parents have more time to hold their baby and to say goodbye.

As Erin says on the group's website: "...my husband and I spent less than one hour with our first and only child. There is nothing advanced about that. I realized then that it was up to US to make sure every U.S. hospital, birthing center and NICU has a CuddleCot. Other parents will, unfortunately, endure the same tragedy. When they are faced with whether to hold their child for hours on end or say goodbye after less than one, they can have the choices we didn’t."

MetroHealth was the recipient of Ashlie's Embrace on May 15, as Erin came to donate a Cuddle Cot to the hospital's labor and delivery staff. It was an emotional moment as Erin shared her story, but the staff knew just how much the cot would mean to the families they work with.

"Here at MetroHealth, I have been honored to take care of - unfortunately -  many moms and dads come into our unit not knowing they aren't going to leave with their child. We always ask what more we can do for these parents and thank goodness there is Ashlie's Embrace because they are changing the way that these parents are able to spend time with their child...change a diaper, take the pictures, prolonging the amount of time, because who are we to say that their time is up? For us to be able to give them the gift of time it's truly such and honor and a blessing, " says RN Megan King, assistant nurse manager for Labor and Delivery.

 

About the MetroHealth System

Founded in 1837, MetroHealth is leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery, and teamwork. Cuyahoga County’s public, safety-net hospital system, MetroHealth meets people where they are, providing care through five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Each day, our nearly 9,000 employees focus on providing our community with equitable healthcare — through patient-focused research, access to care, and support services — that seeks to eradicate health disparities rooted in systematic barriers. For more information, visit metrohealth.org.