Error helps ease early loss
By JAMES AMOS
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
A gift that reached Parkview Medical
Center because of an error with a nursing
contract will go on to help console the
parents of stillborn babies there.
Parkview spokeswoman Michelle Peulen said
the hospital recently received a box of
burial gowns and blankets for stillborn
babies, a donation from the Nebraska-based
Mary Madeline Project.
The gowns and blankets are made from
wedding and formal gowns and are the
brainchild of an Omaha, Neb., grandmother who
had to help her daughter through a stillbirth
three years ago.
The grandmother, Carlin Kammerer, said her
daughter had lost a baby, to be named Mary
Madeline, and couldn’t bear the idea of
shopping for a nice outfit in which to the
bury the body.
Kammerer did the shopping, a difficult
chore, she said. It got her thinking and she
started the Mary Madeline Project.
People send Kammerer and her volunteers
their old wedding gowns, prom dresses and
bridesmaid’s gowns and the volunteers use the
fabric and trim to make the burial gowns and
blankets. They also crochet hats for the
babies.
Kammerer said the clothes are meant to
help ease grieving parents’ pain a little,
and to take a difficult task off their minds.
"It's just unthinkable to have to go to a
department story in the newborn section and
look for an outfit," she said.
Also, premature infants are far too small
to fit in standard baby clothes, so project
volunteers make special small sizes for them.
Using wedding gowns and other formal
dresses was a natural choice, she said.
"It's beautiful satin and I knew there
would be a lot of them, so we wouldn’t have
to buy materials," she said of the wedding
gowns. "Even a simple pattern is beautiful
because of the fabric.
"One woman said it was a chance for her to
see her daughter in a bridal gown," Kammerer
said.
Initially, Kammerer thought most women
would donate their wedding gowns only because
they’d been divorced. But she soon found that
wasn’t true. Married woman donated gowns and
even new brides were willing to recycle their
dresses for a worthy cause.
And there were a lot of dresses women
wanted to recycle, she said. Aside from the
wedding gowns, "a lot of people have a prom
dress or a bridesmaid dress stuck in the
closet they're not going to wear again."
The group’s 15 sewing volunteers can make
12-15 burial gowns from a wedding dress, she
said. Male babies can have a slightly
different design with a "romper" bottom.
The Mary Madeline Project has made and
shipped more than 1,000 infant gowns,
according to Kammerer. Most of the gowns and
blankets are used in Nebraska, but they have
been sent all over the United States.
Kammerer said she sends a box of the baby
gowns and blankets to any states where
someone has donated a dress.
That’s not how the most recent box of 13
gowns and blankets reached Parkview.
Apparently, there had been a problem last
year with a contract with a substitute nurse
supplied by company where Kammerer’s son
works.
That prompted her son to suggest sending
some of the garments to Parkview, Kammerer
said, and so she has, three times now.
Trina Stimmel, a nurse in Parkview’s labor
and delivery department, said the gowns and
blankets are a wonderful help.
Stillbirths happen when the baby dies
either before or during childbirth, Stimmel
said. And despite the advancements of
medicine, it still happens a few times a
month, even from something as simple as a
problem with the umbilical cord.
"It's a very traumatic time for the mother
and the family," she said. "That's why this
is so special."
While some mothers do not want to see or
hold their deceased baby, other do want to
hold and grieve for their lost children,
Stimmel said. "Putting the baby in these
allows them a moment of normalcy."
Stimmel said the box of gowns and blankets
means a lot, not just to the parents who will
receive them.
"In fact, there was a group of the nurses
and technicians and secretaries and staff
that was standing around when we opened the
box, and everybody had tears in their eyes,"
she said.
"Just the thoughtfulness, and what it will
mean to some people. They're wonderful to
get."
The Mary Madeline Project takes donations
of gowns and money, Kammerer said.
To donate or volunteer, visit the
project’s Web site or phone Kammerer at 402
551-7574.
