Family Returns to PVHMC with a Gift for Grieving Parents

Chino residents, Paige and Eduardo Guerrero, returned to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) on July 2, exactly one year after they lost their newborn son, Vincent, and made a special donation in his memory to help future parents who suffer the same loss of a newborn.

When the Guerreros came to PVHMC July 1, 2023, their baby boy showed no heartbeat. A day later, Dr. Mohamed Elsharkawy, who delivered the Guerrero’s two previous children, performed a C-section to deliver Vincent, who was stillborn.

“We expected a lifetime with our son, and we didn’t get that,” said Paige Guerrero.

The family accepted the hospital’s offer to use the Cuddle Cot, a refrigerated bassinet that preserves a baby’s body for up to five days, and were able to spend two extra days with their son for goodbyes.

The Cuddle Cot gives families who experience the tragic loss of an infant more time for photographs, measurements, cuddles, kisses, lullabies, and tears.

Paige, a nurse herself, was so touched by the Cuddle Cot that she and her husband gifted one to the hospital so that other parents who experience the tragic loss of their infant can be given invaluable time with their baby.

“Every patient that you take care of becomes part of who you are and when they experience a loss, it’s a difficult experience for us, too,” said Dr. Elsharkawy. “Paige’s strength and resilience have brought us back together today and her donation will make a difference in the lives of other families.”

Allowing parents enough time to grieve with their babies is important, according to Patty Lirio, MSN, PHN, RNC-OB, Director of Women’s Services at PVHMC.

“A mother is much more likely to have severe depression if she’s not allowed enough time to greet her baby and to say goodbye,” Patty says. “Parents have gone from planning a future to a funeral in a heartbeat, and that’s very traumatic.”

“Having access to the Cuddle Cot helped a lot for me to say goodbye and cope in that moment,” said Paige Guerrero. “I don’t want families to ever not have time with their babies.”

In addition to her Cuddle Cot donation, the Guerreros donated gift baskets to be stored in PVHMC’s maternity unit for future grieving parents, as well.

PVHMC was the first hospital in Los Angeles County to offer the Cuddle Cot, which was developed in the United Kingdom and brought to the United States in 2013. Every year, more than 24,000 women in the U.S. give birth to stillborn babies.