Small hand-sewn hearts meant to help bond a mom and her baby if they are separated after birth have been made for the Cariboo Memorial Hospital maternity ward.
Volunteers with the Cariboo Memorial Hospital Auxiliary made the hearts after they were requested by the maternity ward nurses, said auxiliary member Marg Bublitz.
"The mother will have been holding the heart and then when the baby is placed in another location, the heart will be placed with the baby," she explained. "The heart will have the scent of the mother and when placed with the baby, it helps with the bonding."
Once mother and baby are discharged from the hospital, the heart will go with them to further aid in the bonding process, Bublitz added.
When the hearts were requested by the maternity ward nurses, auxiliary volunteers took the pattern supplied and made a few.
Going forward, they will be making more.
"They all have to be a certain size," Bublitz said.
Almost all the knitting and sewing in the auxiliary's gift shop at the hospital is made by auxiliary volunteers, but Bublitz said they do get some donations of knitting and sewing by local women.
