40 years of care: The Scottish Cot Death Trust timeline
For 40 years, the Scottish Cot Death Trust has supported families through the death of a baby, and empowered parents with trusted safer sleep advice. This timeline honours their legacy
Voices of Scotland
The future of The Scottish Cot Death Trust
The Scottish Cot Death Trust has stood beside families through the darkest moments of their lives. But in recent years, financial pressures have threatened the Scottish Cot Death Trust’s ability to continue this work. The need, however, for bereavement support and safer sleep advice for Scottish families, remains.
The Scottish Cot Death Trust’s work has been transferred to The Lullaby Trust, which will now work across the UK in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
We spoke to families in Scotland, to learn more about their connection with The Scottish Cot Death Trust.
Margaret remembers Brian
Margaret lives in Clydebank, and has worked as a nurse for 24 years. The Scottish Cot Death Trust (SCDT) holds a special place in Margaret’s heart, supporting her after her son, Brian, died at four months old.
“Brian’s lovely little character was really starting to come through. He loved staring at a fish tank! Brian died suddenly and unexpectedly in 1987 when he was four months old.”
“The SCDT gave me a monitor to use for Cheryl which really saved my life. If it wasn’t for that, I don’t know what I would’ve done. With the monitor, I could relax and leave her to sleep. They gave me a befriender, which was so beneficial. She really understood every feeling and emotion I had. I’d lean back in my chair and think ‘wow, she gets me’.”
Marjorie found The Lullaby Trust ‘so supportive'
Marjorie lives in North Ayrshire. After Marjorie and Ian’s son, Craig, died suddenly and unexpectedly, The Lullaby Trust supported Marjorie through her bereavement, and with her next child, Allison. Marjorie has been a loyal supporter ever since, raising over £20,000.
“Craig was a beautiful, strong wee boy, and looked just like Ian!”
A health visitor came to see Marjorie and mentioned The Lullaby Trust (or the Foundation of Sudden Infant Death, FSID, as it was called then). She got in touch with them straight away.
“I had so many unanswered questions. They helped me so much, and were so informative and supportive. I found it very therapeutic speaking to them. They told me that if there’s anything I’d like to speak about, to never be afraid to contact them. They were great. It’s because of the support they offered me back in 1984 after Craig died, and the support they offered us when we had our next child, Allison, that I still support The Lullaby Trust to this day.”
Fiona fundraised in memory of Grant
Fiona lives in Glenrothes in Fife. Fiona’s son, Grant, died suddenly and unexpectedly when he was 26 days old. She spoke to us about the impact this had on her and her family.
Grant was very interested in the world, with his big eyes looking all over the place. It’s just an insane amount of loss, and you end up blaming yourself. I felt a mixture of resentment, anger and bitterness.
Fiona received a lot of valuable support when she had her daughter, Isla, including being given a monitor by the SCDT.
We did a collection for SCDT at Grant’s funeral, and we’ve done a lot of fundraising since. David is a keen outdoors enthusiast. He organised a walk up north which raised over £10,000 for the SCDT. I also did an abseil – it was scary but such an amazing experience! Family members have done other fundraising too. There’s been kilt walks, bungee jumps – all in Grant’s memory.
Sue fundraises in memory of Caelyn
Sue lives in Perth, and after her daughter, Caelyn, died at 21 months, Sue has raised over £10,000 for The Lullaby Trust.
Caelyn’s name means ‘forever loved’, which is now all the more special for us. She was such a mischievous, cheery little soul. I did a ‘Mile in memory’ walk arranged by The Lullaby Trust, which was the only one in Scotland and turned out to be a massive fundraiser. We also raised money at Caelyn’s funeral.
Sue has even been in touch with her local jeweller who made some silver charms for her to sell to raise money. Sue told us that fundraising helps her feel like she’s doing something helpful, in Caelyn’s memory.
My eldest daughter is a hairdresser, and they’ve chosen The Lullaby Trust as their focus charity, and raised about £10,000 in the last year! It’s special to see her supporting the charity, despite having never met her sister.
Chloe used The Lullaby Trust’s website as a ‘bit of a bible’
Chloe lives in north-east Scotland, and used The Lullaby Trust’s website as her go-to resource for baby safety. Before her daughter was born, she worked as a paediatric nurse. Around eight years ago, she was part of a resuscitation case in A&E where a baby had sadly died after being brought in by ambulance.
“As a nurse, I assumed I’d feel confident about caring for my own baby, but people mean it when they say that nothing truly prepares you for having a baby. I immediately felt extreme anxiousness around putting our baby girl into her cot to sleep for fear she would be unsafe and at risk of SIDS. I was seeing and thinking about the baby who died regularly, which was hard to switch off from in the early days.”
Chloe told us she wouldn’t have been confident in her knowledge to make decisions for her little girl without The Lullaby Trust’s information.
“I wanted to share my story because The Lullaby Trust played such an important role in helping me feel confident and informed. I wanted to support them, and maybe my experience might resonate with someone, or validate another person’s experience.”
For every baby. For every family. Forever.
For decades, families in Scotland have been helped by the SCDT. That commitment continues with The Lullaby Trust. We're here for you, every step of the way.
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A closed group where you can meet bereaved families who have experienced the death of a baby or young child, to talk and support each other.