After losing a baby at 28 weeks, Jessica March found solace in being able to spend three days saying goodbye to her son thanks to a special cot that kept his body cool.
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Now, the Rutherford woman is raising money to provide John Hunter Hospital with another cuddle cot to help other parents through the same process.
After reaching halfway through her pregnancy, Jessica said scans showed some complications with her baby.
"It was worse than they first thought. His bowels were in his chest and he had a hole in his diaphragm," she said.
Doctors told Jessica and her partner Todd that her baby had a 50 per cent of surviving birth and then a 50 per cent chance of surviving surgeries he would need in the first few weeks of his life. Jessica said he would also require ongoing surgeries later in life.
"So there was only a 25 per cent chance of survival and then after that, what would his life be like?" she said.
The couple made the difficult decision to terminate at 28 weeks in December.
Jessica was given a needle to stop the baby's heart and a tablet to bring on labour.
After Levi was born, he was brought out to the couple in a cuddle cot, which looks like a bassinet but contains a cooling system so Jessica and Todd could spend as much time as they needed to get photos, cuddle him and say goodbye.
Without the cots, the parents' time with their baby would be limited as they normally need to be kept in a traditional cooling room.
"We wouldn't have got through without being able to spend that time with him," Jessica said.
"It made us a little bit more at peace."
Jessica returned to the hospital after Christmas and was informed that one of the cuddle cots was broken.
She decided to raise money to buy another one and give something back to the hospital staff who she said were "amazing".
"They cared for us and made us feel like their own family," she said.
Jessica also said it was a way for her to leave a memory of Levi.
"If we raise the money for it, we can put Levi's name on it," she said.
"It's hard - we're parents but we've got nothing to show for it. This is a way to honour him."
Jessica has raised more than $3,800, but is aiming for $6,500 to fund the cot. To donate, visit https://cuddlecot.gofundraise.com.au/page/Jessica-9321412
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
