An Edinburgh mum has launched a campaign to purchase a new 'cold cot' for the NHS after losing her son when she was just 19 weeks pregnant.
Leah West, 28, and her husband Fraser had been put through the heartbreaking ordeal of losing a child after a gender reveal scan spotted a rare heart condition in their baby, Oliver.
The couple had been happily expecting their first child in May 2019 and told Edinburgh Live that all scans had been normal and well up until they went for a private gender appointment at around 17 weeks.
After noticing the abnormality, the sonographer had immediately referred Leah to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where Oliver was diagnosed with a rare heart condition that would not allow him to survive once born.
Two weeks later, Leah had been induced, with the couple then able to spend around 24 hours with Oliver in the cold cot to enable them to have some first memories together.
Describing the experience, she said: "It was heartbreaking, and all of it was a bit of a blur, but the staff at the hospital were brilliant and gave so much support at the time.
"The cold cot is almost a refrigerated unit which allows the baby to be kept cool and stops the body from deteriorating, which meant that we were able to have 24 hours with him.
"We were able to make some memories which was so important to allow us to bond with him, we got hand prints and footprints and even gave him a bath."
Two years on from the experience, Leah explained that having her second son, James, in April of this year allowed her to realise just how important those hours with the cold cot had been.
Now hoping to give back and help other parents in the same situation, Leah has launched a fundraiser for a cold cot to be provided for NHS Highlands, who are in desperate need of the equipment.
She added: "Looking back I realise how valuable that time was that we had, at the time it was hard and a blur but now I've had James I know how important it was.
"I've been hoping to do something to commemorate Ollie so I contacted the Held in our Hearts charity who helped us a lot during that time and after, and they told us that the Highlands were in real need of one.
"It seemed very fitting as I'm from the Highlands and I know sometimes the resources there aren't great. I just want to give that time that we had to other families."
As well as taking on a 19-mile sponsored walk in memory of Ollie's 19 weeks, Leah has also launched a Go Fund Me page which has seen over £1,200 of donations so far.
Leah said: "It's been amazing, didn't think it would get such a big reaction so it's been a bit overwhelming to see."
You can find the fundraiser here.
