Getting it just right

Please note that this story includes the subject of baby loss. It has been written by one of our regular volunteers.

We are proud to respond to a range of requests from local partners and this recent referral from a local hospital had an affect on all involved.

“As a regular volunteer with many years’ experience at Stripey Stork, it’s fair to say that I have been very moved by the work of the dedicated referral partners who support so many families in our community. Their involvement spans across helping alleviate the stress of poverty in families to re-building young lives shattered by domestic abuse. Their work is gritty and humbling.

The referral partner we met today describes her job as ‘an honour’. She is an extremely compassionate senior nurse who carries out the care of babies and children who have died in hospital. Amongst other extremely sensitive duties, her role is to carefully dress these precious babies and young children. She and her Team have to choose an outfit that fits the infant’s body well, ensuring that arms and legs are sufficiently covered. The outfit needs to be a neutral design in soft colours – stark white is too harsh. The outfit must also look immaculate and represent the style that the parent would have chosen themselves. A little hat for a newborn is often requested.

And finally, a soft blanket is used to wrap the body as parents want to know that their child will be warm. So when the little one is perfectly dressed and bundled, they can be gently handed to their parents for precious time together. Despite the rawness of the situation, we learn that every little detail matters enormously to grieving parents so the nurses make every effort to get it ‘just right.’

As carefully explained to us, the clothes used cannot always be purchased out of hospital funds. As we know, funding has to be stretched in countless directions which means that new clothing is not necessarily at the top of the list. Thanks to the incredibly generous donations of pre-loved clothes to Stripey Stork, we are confident that we will be able to supply a carefully chosen selection of little outfits and soft woollen blankets to the nurses who undertake such valuable work. In turn, we have the honour and privilege of helping them get the details ‘just right.’

Our gratitude and admiration goes to all those who support these families and our hearts go out to those who experience loss. Thank you #TeamStork for allowing us to support this most valuable work.”