Support for families coping with grief of losing an infant now available
October 15 is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.
In recognition of the day and in remembrance of their children being stillborn,
the Strader and Welliver families have come together to outfit five Central
Ohio delivery hospitals with equipment to help ease the challenges families
face in saying goodbye to their stillborn babies. Dean Strader and Lydia
Welliver share similar stories, each being stillborn at 34 weeks gestation.
Stillbirth
occurs in about 1 in 160 pregnancies in the United States. A stillbirth is considered the death of a fetus at 20
or more weeks of pregnancy. Approximately 24,000
pregnancies ended in stillbirth in the United States during 2013. To
provide support to those having a similar experience as theirs, each family
launched their own fundraiser to purchase and donate Cuddle Cots.
“I encourage the community to continue to support this
initiative,” said Mayor Coleman. “I am immensely proud that this city is full
of people who help one another during times of crisis.”
Cuddle Cots are devices that can be used by hospitals to
discretely keep a baby cool at the mother’s bedside following a stillbirth or
other infant loss. This device provides a gift of time for parents to properly
say goodbye to a child without witnessing post-mortem changes. Over
$16,000 has been raised collectively to date. Donations continue to be
accepted to further this important work at GoFundMe.com/Strader.
“What the Strader and Welliver families are doing is nothing short of
inspirational,” said Council President Andrew J. Ginther. “They are
turning a tremendous personal loss into a chance to offer a time of comfort and
reflection for parents who are dealing with unimaginable grief.”
Leslie credits her son with being the inspiration for the
successful campaign. “Despite being so small with a life far too
brief, my son has managed to make a significant impact on our community,” said
Leslie Strader. “He has made me a proud parent.”
Enduring labor and delivery while grieving is traumatic, and
helping parents cope is an important role hospitals play. As Columbus mobilizes
through CelebrateOne to assure positive birth outcomes for all pregnant women
and assure more babies reach their first birthday, Columbus Mayor Michael B.
Coleman encourages other Ohio cities to provide support for families
experiencing a loss.