SUMMIT TWP — The soft and snugly memento sent home with babies born at Butler Memorial Hospital often becomes a longtime source of comfort as they grow.

Shayla Schuler, director of obstetrics at Independence Health System, said all newborns leaving the hospital receive a handmade item — usually a small crocheted blanket — as a gift and token of starting their lives at Butler Memorial.

The blankets are made with love by a handful of knitting, crocheting and quilting groups and individuals in the region, Schuler said.

“It’s something the parents won’t have to buy,” she said. “They usually put it over the baby in the car seat and take a picture.”

She said the hospital receives 20 to 30 blankets every few months from the groups that make them free of charge for the hospital’s newborn families.

The obstetrics unit now has a supply of about 100 of the handmade baby blankets, and almost never runs out.

She said nurses on the unit normally take a new mom into the room where the blankets are stored and allow her to choose from a selection of pink, blue and gender-neutral blankets.

“It lets them have a little fun,” Schuler said. “We get excited when they pick one of our favorite blankets.”

Schuler said mothers get another baby blanket when they return for their six-week checkup.

The blankets, and sometimes hats, are distributed at all five Independence Health System locations, including Clarion.

“It makes for a better patient experience with us,” Schuler said.

Hillary Heginbotham, practice manager on the obstetrics unit, received a blue-and-white striped crocheted blanket in 2020 when she delivered her son.

She said the blankets aren’t exactly like weighted blankets, but the yarn used to make them creates a heavier, cuddlier cover.

“It’s his favorite blanket,” she said of the blanket she chose for her son.

Amanda DeLoe, practice administrator on the unit, said parents also receive a laminated birth announcement before they leave the hospital.

The announcement is in pink or blue and lists the baby’s name, time and date of birth, height and weight, and the doctor’s name.

“People don’t see such intimate gestures much anymore,” DeLoe said.

Schuler said the women who bring the blankets in often wait in the lobby so they can hand them to the nurse from the obstetrics unit.

“They truly enjoy it,” she said. “It brings them joy.”

She said those who take the time to make blankets for the hospital’s newborns will never know how grateful the nurses and families are.

“We appreciate all the donations so much,” Schuler said.

One group that recently donated their first 58 blankets to the obstetrics unit is Mars FiberKnots, a group of crochet and knitting enthusiasts who meet from 5 to 7 p.m. every Monday at the Mars Area Public Library.

Valencia resident Monica Palmer, the group’s leader for 10 of the group’s 12 years in existence, said she was contacted in June through Facebook by an individual in the Butler Memorial Hospital obstetrics unit who asked if her group would be interested in providing handmade blankets for the newborn program.

“I brought it up to the group, and they jumped on it,” she said.

She said baby yarns or worsted-weight yarns typically used to make hats, afghans and scarves are normally employed for the baby blankets.

“We do look for the softer brands if (blankets) are going to babies,” Palmer said.

She said group members are free to create any design or size for the blankets. They usually use soft, pastel colors, and sometimes add a heart, bunny or other appliqué.

“People have favorite patterns and colors, so we get such a variety,” Palmer said.

She said members bring whatever they are working on to the weekly meetings, and knit or crochet while they chat.

“It can be a personal project, or a lot of times if it’s a charity project, we’ll work on those during the meetings,” Palmer said. “No one is obligated to participate in the charity projects.”

Palmer said Mars FiberKnots has 20 to 30 active members, which includes six elementary and six high school students, as well as people in their 80s and everyone in between.

“We love seeing the younger people come and learn the craft, because then we know it’s not going to die out,” she said.

Palmer thinks young people today want to learn to crochet or knit because they are interested in crafts, given the friendship and rubber-band bracelet crazes.

“They just like that creativity, and they’ve seen Grandma or someone they know do it, and they want to learn,” she said.

Palmer said the group will teach anyone to crochet. All they have to do is show up at a meeting with a crochet hook and some yarn.

She said new crocheters are taught the basics and encouraged to practice by viewing beginner YouTube videos in between meetings.

“You can replay and rewind and watch it over and over, and no one will get frustrated with you,” Palmer said. “The kids are so tech savvy, they like that.”

She said Mars FiberKnots also makes small blankets for the Still Remembered project, which provides care packages to families in the Pittsburgh region who have suffered a stillbirth or lost their baby in the days or weeks after birth.

They also support Zachary’s Mission, which provides gift bags to parents whose babies are in the neonatal intensive care unit at a Pittsburgh hospital. The FiberKnots make blankets and matching hats for Zachary’s Mission, Palmer said.

“I think it’s a way we can support families during difficult times in their lives, and we have heard so many times that people are so appreciative and so touched that total strangers have taken the time to make something to donate to them,” Palmer said. “We are blessed to have this talent that we can share with others and just spread kindness.”

Mars FiberKnots also accepts handmade crocheted or knitted baby blankets and hats at their weekly meetings from people who make them at home and do not wish to attend meetings, Palmer said.