Courtney Clough was halfway through her pregnancy when a routine checkup turned her world upside down. Tragically, tests revealed that her baby’s heart had stopped. Donors provided Courtney and her family access to the Perinatal Bereavement Program at Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital. There, they received help to deal with their devastating loss.

Courtney opted for an induced, natural delivery. Afterward, she and her husband had 11 hours with their baby, Thomas. It was enough to make a lifetime of memories.

“Being able to have that time together was the best gift we could have been given in such an impossibly difficult time,” Courtney says.

“I’m forever thankful that the Perinatal Bereavement Program made it possible to have those moments with our child.”

Baby Thomas was Courtney’s first experience with the Bereavement Program, but sadly not her first with perinatal loss. She previously miscarried a daughter at just 12 weeks.

“I never got to see her,” she says. “Now I know first-hand the difference that makes. You can’t even compare the two. Seeing and holding Thomas really helped with the grieving process.”

Donor gifts ensured that Courtney was able to bond with her son.

“Holding Thomas was hard and healing at the same time. I got to see my child and feel the weight of him, which is imprinted on my hands. I can still feel that weight. Every first moment we were having was also a last moment.”