A BRAVE mother has broken her silence about the pain of losing a child prematurely and hopes to help other families in a similar situation.

On 4 May, Chester Joseph Pughe was stillborn 20 weeks early “wearing his angel wings” at Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth.

Now parents Erika Arrowsmith and Tom Pughe hope to raise money for a cuddle cot for the hospital, similar to the one that enabled them to spend one last day with their son.

Joy and anticipation had turned to horror and despair for parents Erika and Tom just a few weeks prior to the stillbirth.

Their gender scan had revealed that their sixth child, who was to be Tom’s first son, but the scan also revealed that Chester was severely brain-damaged and afflicted with Spina Bifida, a condition which would stop his spinal cord developing properly, meaning he had no chance of a normal life.

Following medical advice which stated he would not survive the necessary surgeries, Chester’s parents made the “hardest decision of their lives” and endured a medical termination.

Faced with the devastating news that Chester would never be able to see his family home in Tywyn, Erika and Tom were at least able to spend one day and night with their son due to a cuddle cot at the hospital, offering a slight degree of closure in an unimaginably horrific situation.

Now the family hopes to raise funds to buy a cuddle cot for Bronglais to help other families in the same situation.

Erika was grateful for the opportunity to spend time with her “little treasure”.

“The time we got to spend with our son was so precious to us before having to let him go, but thanks to being able to have the use of a cuddle cot we were also able to spend one last night with him in our hospital room which meant the entire world to us as you could imagine,” said Erika.

For more information, or to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/chesters-aberystwyth-cuddle-cot

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