- .'Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep' organisation sends photographers to meet emotional parents and terminally ill babies
- .They believe images serve as an important step in the family's healing process by honouring the child's legacy
- .Founded by Cheryl Haggard, who had to take her newborn son, Maddux Achilles Haggard, off life support in 2005
- .She called photographer Sandy Puc to capture their final moments and they both launched organisation
Cradling their newborns with their faces filled with love, these pictures capture heartbroken parents' final moments with their babies.
The images were taken by the organisation Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, who say they create the treasured memories by sending photographers to meet devastated parents and their terminally ill babies in hospital.
The service has boomed in popularity since launching in the USA ten years ago and boasts 1,650 volunteers in 40 countries across the globe, who offer their services via the organisation's website.
These images capture heartbroken parents' final moments with their dying children, like baby Logan Bostrom. Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep creates the memories by sending photographers to meet emotional parents and their terminally ill babies in hospital
Describing their mission on their website, the organisation writes: 'Our mission is to introduce remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of a baby with a free gift of professional portraiture.'
The organisation trains, educates and organises for professional photographers to provide what they describe as 'beautiful heirloom portraits' to families facing the untimely death of an infant.
'We believe these images serve as an important step in the family’s healing process by honoring the child’s legacy,' they say.
The organisation was founded by Cheryl Haggard, who had to make the excruciating decision to take her newborn son, Maddux Achilles Haggard, off life support in 2005.
Maddux was born with a condition called myotubular myopathy, which prevented him from breathing, swallowing or moving on his own.
Before doing so, they called photographer Sandy Puc to take pictures of them cradling their son, including some when he had been taken off life support, when, they say, 'he was free from the tubes and the wires that had sustained him'.
The organisation was founded by Cheryl Haggard, pictured, who had to make the excruciating decision to take her newborn son, Maddux Achilles Haggard, off life support in 2005. She called in a photographer to capture their last moment together
The service has boomed in popularity since launching in the USA ten years ago and boasts 1,650 volunteers in 40 countries across the globe. Here, baby Logan Bostrom is cradled in his father's hands
The organisation trains, educates, and organises for professional quality photographers to provide what they describe as 'beautiful heirloom portraits' to families who face the untimely death of their newborn, such as baby Hannah Grace Meyer
The nonprofit organisation is named after the children's bedtime prayer and captured baby Hannah Grace Meyer in her mother's arms
Cheryl said: 'That night was the worst night of my life. But when I look at the images, I am not reminded of my worst night. I’m reminded of the beauty and blessings he brought.'
She realised that those tender photographs documented Maddux's 'eternal connnection' with his parents and inspired her to launch a non-profit organisation to give other grieving parents the same experience.
Named after the children's bedtime prayer, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep provides families of babies who are stillborn or extremely ill newborns with free professional portraits.
They said about the service: 'Photographs are one of the most precious and tangible mementos that a parent can have, showing the love and bond that was given and shared with their baby.
'These portraits will last for generations, and will honor and remember a tiny life that is forever loved and cherished.'
In one testimonial on their website, a couple explained how their final family portrait helped them grieve.
'On Saturday March 17, 2012 around 10:45 am, we said hello and good-bye to our beloved son.
'It is shocking to know that he is physically no longer with us. Yet we are glad that your organization exists and was able to provide us a lifetime of memories through the baby pictures taken of him.
'We are so grateful and thank God that we have these pictures to forever treasure our baby angel. May God continue to bless you as you bless and help families through their difficult time.'
The organisation says they believe these images, such as this one of baby Isabella Riviera, serve as an important step in the family's healing process by honouring the child's legacy
Baby Hannah Grace Meyer's tiny feet are captured as part of the photoseries for her parents
Founder Cheryl Haggard pictured holding baby Maddux, who was born with a condition called myotubular myopathy, which prevented him from breathing, swallowing or moving on his own
After photographer Sandy Puc took snaps of Maddux during his final moments, she and Cheryl launched the organisation to help other parents
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