Entrepreneur turns umbilical cords into artistic keepsakes

By Barney Riley via SWNS

An entrepreneur is preserving the memories of newborns and "angel babies" - by turning umbilical cords into permanent decorative pieces.

Mothers who want to remember the birth of their newborns can have their umbilical cords customized and shaped into hearts, butterflies and even the word "love".

A video showed how the raw umbilical cord can be loosely shaped and then dehydrated making it "last a lifetime".

Casey Merrell, 32, started her business UCord Keepsakes in 2015, after sadly losing her child during pregnancy.

Her "angel baby" was one of the reasons she started the business after she wasn't able to keep the umbilical cord from that pregnancy.

Casey now has four children and has managed to make her own keepsakes from their umbilical cords.

Stay-at-home mum Casey said: "I created one for myself after bringing home his umbilical cord from the hospital.

"I may have gotten some weird looks from the staff.

"His was a simple heart shape with no coating, so you could see the visible vessels that connected us during pregnancy.

"I loved having that connection preserved as he grew - we all know they grow so fast."

Operating out of St Louis, Missouri, mothers from across the United States send their umbilical cords to Casey for preservation.

Mothers can sign up for the process at any point after getting a positive pregnancy test.

They receive a collection kit that will be given to midwives during the birth then a postal kit to send to Casey.

Once Casey receives the umbilical cord, it is dehydrated and painted with a color chosen by the mother.

If the cord is requested to be natural, it is coated in epoxy resin.

Each piece costs around £120 ($149) and Casey sell an average of 18 every month.

In 2017, Casey started offering the service to friends and word of mouth started getting the service a lot of traction - so she started her own business.

Her company continued to grow and her online presence propelled the business to new heights.

In May 2022, she formally opened the business to the whole of the USA with mothers thousands of miles away benefitting from the service.

Casey is a certified placenta specialist and has a bloodborne pathogen license and a food handlers license.

She describes her work as a "labor of love" and finds the work incredibly rewarding to help mothers have a reminder of the birth "frozen in time".

The service is particularly poignant for "angel moms" who have lost their child during birth or shortly after.

Casey said: "The most rewarding part of the job is being honored to work for families who experience pregnancy loss, infant loss or their child has a terminal condition.

"As an angel mom myself, we had a little boy with a genetic condition incompatible with life.

"I know how healing holding a keepsake like this can be.

"These families can hold a literal piece of their baby when their baby passes in utero, after birth, or shortly after and they are no longer in their arms."

Despite the process meaning so much to her and many other mothers, she understands that this process might seem peculiar to some.

Casey said: "I know the idea of preserving an umbilical cord isn't for everyone, but love that it's an option for families who want it.

"A lot of moms will save the umbilical cord stump that falls off a few weeks after birth.

"It's not much different saving a longer section to have it created into a more visually appealing keepsake that is preserved in a more final and proper manner.

"Also getting a UCord Keepsake made isn't much different than saving a lock of baby's hair, baby teeth, or keeping cremated ashes of a loved one in your home.

"I'm proud of what I do and although combing through the thousands of negative TikTok comments will sometimes hurt.

"But the minute I hear back from a client who just opened their completed UCord Keepsake raving about how much they love it makes it all worth it."

Casey hopes to normalize this process in the future so more mothers can experience the joy of remembering the beauty of childbirth without any stigma attached to it.