A mother who lost nine babies prematurely has raised money to donate a cuddle cot to the medics who cared for her.
Yvette Brown, now 34, lost her first baby in 2001 to a stillbirth.
Since then Yvette, from Stoke-on-Trent, has had five heartbreaking miscarriages, one infant death, an ectopic pregnancy and the latest was another stillborn in May 2018.
But despite her heartache, the big-hearted mum still found the time to help others by raising money for the special cot for Royal Stoke University Hospital's maternity unit.
The cuddle cot’s special cooling system allows grieving parents precious time with stillborn babies that they may not have gotten otherwise.
Yvette is a mum-of-six and calls miracle baby, Kaylum-Jay (KJ), aged seven, her ‘rainbow’. She suffered a difficult pregnancy and was high risk throughout, reports StokeonTrentLive .
Yvette said: “KJ does everything with me and always wants to be involved with our fundraising and Wave a Light vigils.”
As well as fundraising for the cuddle cot, which cost £1,600, Yvette has been campaigning for a national remembrance day for ‘angel babies lost too soon’.
Yvette helped to set up the group Eve's Angel Community Fundraiser and Support Networks for Stoke-on-Trent after her friend Siobhan Stanley lost her baby girl to sudden infant death syndrome.
Alongside her own devastating experiences, she has campaigned for a national day of remembrance in the UK for 'every angel gone too soon'.
She said: "Helping others in our community and local families helps me to raise awareness for people going through a sad journey of loss and I don't want any angel parent or family suffer alone.
"I want to break the stigma attached to pregnancy and infant loss. We as a group have raised the money for the cuddle cot to help other mums."
In May 2018, Yvette suffered another stillbirth at 14-16 weeks, without even knowing she was pregnant.
During the birth, Yvette lost her left ovary, suffered internal bleeding and three blood clots.
She said: “When I got my baby back she was given to me in a cardboard box and a carrier bag.
“I was so upset that I complained to MP Ruth Smeeth and it made me realise that I wanted to do something to allow the hospital to give a family more than just a cardboard box.”
Yvette presented the cuddle cot to midwives at Royal Stoke on her birthday (August 1).
She said: “This cuddle cot is for my angels. If I didn’t raise the money for this then I wouldn’t be able to live.
“It’s helped me get over my babies by helping someone else.
“The precious moments you get from having a cuddle cot are amazing and that’s why the hospital needs them.”
Midwife Liz Jennings has worked at Royal Stoke for 37 years. She said: “We now have five cuddle cots at the hospital.
“It means so much to the families to spend time with the baby they have lost and allow them to take them home and make memories that are so precious to these families.”
This year, Yvette will host the third annual Wave a Light vigil on October 15 at Hanley Town Hall, where she will raise money for designs to go on to stillborn baby caskets at Royal Stoke.