Last month, the Aultman Birth Center received a very special gift from a very special organization. Local nonprofit group Ashlie’s Embrace donated a CuddleCot to the bereavement program.

A CuddleCot is basically a refrigerated gel pad that keeps a baby cool in the event of stillbirth, SIDS or other neonatal/infant loss. It allows parents and families more time to say goodbye to precious infants.

The CuddleCot systems are not widely used in the U.S. and there are only a handful in the state. Ashlie’s Embrace wants to change that. The goal of the nonprofit organization is to raise enough money to purchase CuddleCots for hospitals and birthing centers not just in Ohio, but in the Midwest and beyond.

Ashlie’s Embrace was started this past year by Erin and Tony Maroon of North Canton. In October of 2015, the couple experienced the complete devastation of stillbirth when they lost their one and only daughter, Ashlie Cathren. You can read more about their experience on their website, www.ashliesembrace.org or in this article from The Canton Repository.

The couple’s experience led them to create this incredible nonprofit organization, keeping their daughter’s memory alive and allowing other parents and families more time to say goodbye. Ashlie’s Embrace is dedicated to education, awareness and advocacy. The last line of their mission statement says it all, “Losing a child is difficult enough. We want parents to have an option if they have to live a lifetime of memories in just minutes.”