MANSFIELD – A little more than three years ago, Kari Davis walked into the maternity department at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital to begin the worst day of her life.
“I remember walking through that door at 39 and a half weeks pregnant, and we’d found out the day before that our daughter died,” Davis said. “At the time I felt so alone, and (my husband Marc) and I were both devastated and we didn’t know how we’d get through that day.
“I never thought that journey would take us here.”
On Friday, Davis found herself back at OhioHealth’s maternity ward to dedicate a CuddleCot as a way for mothers like herself to spend more time with their stillborn babies.
“One thing we would have given is to have more time with Harper,” Davis said. “The CuddleCot is going to enable a lot of families in Richland County to have that time when they experience the tragedy of a stillbirth.”
A CuddleCot is a small cooling unit that can be placed in a Moses basket or bassinet to enable stillborn babies to be kept bedside with his or her parents while in the hospital instead of being transported to and from the morgue.
“It helps to slow down the tissue deterioration of the baby, and allows for the baby to remain with the mom and dad for a longer period of time to support that bonding and grieving process,” explained Libby Daniels, director of inpatient services and women’s health at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. “It’s very difficult for the moms when the baby is taken away, and this allows them as much time as they need to have that closure.”
Since Davis delivered her daughter Harper stillborn in 2013, she has been active in raising awareness of stillbirths. According to Davis, one in 160 births ends in stillbirth, and there is an average of about nine stillbirths per year in Richland County.
Davis currently works as a respiratory therapist for OhioHealth. She has also since become an ambassador for the “Count the Kicks” campaign in order to increase public awareness that simply counting a baby’s movements in the final trimester of pregnancy can save a life.
OhioHealth President Jean Halpin praised Davis’ passion for Count the Kicks and educating women as they progress through pregnancy, as well as educating the maternity ward team at OhioHealth.
“Kari has turned something that is personally tragic into an advocacy to make a difference in other people’s lives,” Halpin said.
Davis had first started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the CuddleCot to donate to OhioHealth, then reached out to Halpin and the OhioHealth Foundation for assistance in funding. The foundation was happy to oblige.
“This moment is to celebrate Harper and her life and what she did, though she’ll never know it, and the difference that she has made for the families we will serve going forward,” Halpin said.
OhioHealth Chaplain Chris Mason dedicated the CuddleCot with a poem and a prayer, noting that those gathered on Friday have all committed to showing compassion to their patients in the midst of the worst heartache possible.
“We know that often our commitment is inspired during times of heartache, or in remembrance of heartache, and that’s the case here today,” Mason said. “We choose to respond to pain, to loss and grief, with compassion, love and hope. So we dedicate these CuddleCots today for this reason – to provide opportunity for grieving and for the processing of loss after the death of a child.”
“I would give anything to have Harper back,” Davis said. “But I’m glad something positive has come out of such a bad situation for us.”
