Bereaved Asian couple raise funds for cold cots

An Asian-origin couple from Coventry has launched a fundraiser to donate cold cots to hospitals, after a stillborn baby was born to them, BBC reports.

A cold cot is a refrigerated infant bed that allows parents to spend more time with their deceased baby.

Satveer Kaur Binning was more than 40 weeks pregnant when her baby's heartbeat stopped and she later delivered a stillborn daughter Siaan.

The couple said that thanks to the cold cot at Coventry's University Hospital, they spent two days with their daughter.

They have since launched a fundraising appeal and raised more than £7,000 so far, mainly donations from friends, relatives, and people in their Sikh community.

A group of 15 have agreed to run Coventry’s half marathon on April 28 as part of the campaign.

The couple hopes their appeal can raise awareness in the Sikh community about stillbirth.

Satveer's husband Shanghara Singh Binning claimed that 90 per cent of the people in the Sikh community consider it taboo to tell others about stillbirth.

The couple plans to set up a stall as part of the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi on April 13 and hand out tea in cups that have Siaan’s name on it, as well as a QR code that links to a webpage telling her story.

According to the NHS, one in 200 are stillbirths in England. It defines stillbirth as babies who are born dead after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy.

Hospitals are not obliged to have cold cots, and individual NHS trusts take a call.

The couple has so far bought three cots and one will go to Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital. They are yet to finalise where the other two should be sent.