Losing a baby during childbirth can be a totally heartbreaking and solitary sad bereavement for couples.

But the hurt of knowing that the tiny tot has been taken away to the funeral directors or the hospital mortuary compounds the misery.

But now, thanks to the communication between Justine Ladds, midwife and bereavement co-ordinator at the maternity unit at the West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds, and Davina Armstrong, from Armstrongs Funeral Directors, in the town, the hospital has been gifted a cuddle cot.

The donation was made to the My WiSH Charity, which supports the West Suffolk, by the funeral directors in St Andrews Street North. It cost £1,500.

Davina explained that Justine is a close friend and they often came across families in the difficult position of losing a baby.

It is a type of refrigerated wicker cradle that is used to allow the baby to stay with the parents for as long as they wish.

Davina said: “It can be used for when the baby passes away after the birth and the family can visit it in the sanctuary of the midwifery department and it was something that we thought we could help the hospital with.”

Sue Smith fundraising manager for My WiSH said: “Having the opportunity for a couple to stay with their baby after delivery in these tragic circumstances is so important, the charity has already provided a bereavement suite where couples can deliver their babies away from the rest of the delivery unit during this vulnerable time and this cot will now give couples extra precious time to spend with their babies.”