On 4 November 2021, after an uneventful first pregnancy, I went into labour at 39 weeks 4 days. Upon arriving at hospital, we were told the words no parent ever wants to hear - "your baby has no heart beat". 

Our world permanently changed.

We had a few days to make a lifetime of memories with our precious little boy, Rory.

Thankfully the hospital where I delivered Rory had a Cuddle Cot.

A Cuddle Cot is a cooling system that fits within a bassinet/Moses basket, lying beneath the baby and assists in delaying decomposition. This allows bereaved parents an extension of time to keep their baby physically close to them. This is an invaluable support resource that allows parents to create memories with their beloved babies by taking photos and having family and friends meet their baby to say hello along with their final goodbyes.

We were fortunate that the hospital allowed us to take their cuddle cot home with us so we could spend 3 days with Rory, introducing him to his family and friends in our home. Our funeral provider, Natural Grace, also had a cuddle cot, which meant after Rory's autopsy, we could bring him home for another 2 days to cram in a lifetime of kisses and cuddles.

Each cuddle cot is $6500. They are worth every cent and I would love to be able to raise funds to donate a cuddle cot in Rory's name to help future bereaved families make precious memories with their baby.

Any additional funds raised will be used to donate "Bears of Hope" care packs ($50 each), which include a teddy bear named in honour of Rory, memory books to place photos, locks of hair, hand and foot prints, a journal, candle, seeds to plant in honour of your baby, a photo frame and information and guidance materials to assist bereaved parents to access support services.

Before becoming one of the statistics, we had no idea that 6 babies a day are stillborn in Australia. A further 2 babies a day will die within the first 28 days of their life. That’s 2200 babies that will die every single year in Australia. This is higher than our national road toll and sadly this rate has not changed in over 20 years.

We would absolutely love if you could help us honour our precious Rory’s life with a gift to future bereaved families that have to endure this heart breaking tragedy.

Much love, Rhiannon and Tom – parents of little Rory Heath Morris xx