Mom Creates Special Baby Blanket to Parents Coping With Stillbirth

On November 30, 2022 at 39.5 weeks pregnant, Molly Woodward welcomed her son Roman Brooks into the world without a heartbeat. The Nashville mom and her husband understandably wanted to spend as much time as possible with their baby earthside but came up against an unexpected challenge.

“What a lot of people don’t realize about stillborn babies, is that parents only have a limited time with their babies after they pass because their little bodies actually start to deteriorate. In the hospital, they encourage you to keep your baby in a cuddle cot, which is essentially a refrigerated bassinet to preserve their bodies,” Woodward explained in an Instagram post. “The only problem was, I wanted to hold Roman for the entire 24 hours I had with him.”

Expressing her frustration, Woodward explained that her nurses did everything they could to accommodate her and her husband by bringing in ice packs and paper towels to surround her son’s body while she held him but that her mother-in-law, present during this heartbreaking time, felt compelled to find a better solution.

A few months later, she created the first-ever Roman’s Wrap – a soft baby blanket with an insert for an ice pack. This innovative design enables bereaved parents to hold their babies comfortably for a more extended period during the most challenging day of their lives.

“I am so proud that Roman has already been able to make a difference in so many people’s lives. We have donated our wraps to a few local hospitals and they have shared how grateful the bereaved parents are to have more time with their baby and a way to comfortably hold them,” Woodward wrote.

Currently, Woodward’s mother-in-law is single-handedly crafting and donating Roman’s Wraps to hospitals but the demand for them has grown, and efforts are underway to produce more to replenish hospital supplies.

To support this initiative, Woodward has created the Roman Woodward Foundation, an official 501©(3) nonprofit organization currently accepting donations to fund materials for creating more Roman’s Wraps. The goal is to restock existing hospitals, expand donations to more healthcare facilities and reach as many bereaved families as possible.

“Those 24 hours in the hospital with Roman were obviously the most heartbreaking hours of my life but also some of the most precious hours I’ve ever had,” Woodward added. “I’m so grateful that I was able to hold him for as long as I was and I am so happy that this will give parents even more time to hold their baby on the worst day of their lives.”