Davis Blount, a 16-year-old Riverside High School student, chose a topic close to his heart for his Eagle Scout project. He has built wooden memento boxes for the Silent Birth Program at Durham Regional Hospital in honor of his older brother.

"The program was named Silent Birth because the mother is having a baby that isn't going to cry," said Bonnie Smith, program coordinator. "In some instances the mother knows before arriving at the hospital by finding out at her doctor's office, but, sometimes they do not find out their baby isn't alive until during labor or after due to intrauterine fetal demise, anencephaly, or cardiac anomalies. The mother still has to deliver the baby even if it is no longer alive inside them, which can take hours or even days."

The Silent Birth program began at Durham Regional in 1991, a year after Smith helped deliver Janet Blount's stillborn baby boy.

"I explained to her that we had no set program for when this happened," says Smith. "Within a year, Janet was part of the team that helped get the program started." Blount met with Labor and Delivery nurses and told them about her experience, providing input about materials to give the families.

The items parents receive after delivering a stillborn have evolved over time to include a keepsake box that is filled with helpful information on managing grief and memories of their baby. It includes a book called "When Hello Means Goodbye," packets of information on mourning, the clothes the baby wore, the blankets he or she was wrapped in, the baby's measurements, a lock of hair, photos courtesy of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, a company that enlists professional photographers to donate their time to come to the hospital and take pictures of the baby, and a certificate of life, signed by both the nurse and the physician and stamped with the foot prints of the baby.

"Parents are devastated when this happens to them," Smith said. "Our seasoned nurses ensure that they are treated with respect and do the best we can to offer support and provide mementos to remember their child by. Many times this involves more than just the Mom and Dad; sometimes there are siblings and grandparents we have to console as well. We also have grief information specifically tailored for them and are available for their needs as well."

The Silent Birth Program now relies on donations for clothing, blankets and other materials. The Blount family found out about the need for boxes and Davis chose that as his project.

"I thought I could do something to help the families at Durham Regional that have stillborns," said Davis Blount. "I know how much this issue has impacted my family, so I wanted to do something to help."

He asked for volunteers to assist with building the memento boxes and 120 people showed up ready to sand, paint and spackle.

"It was of bigger interest than I expected," said Davis. "Some wanted to help in honor of someone they lost. My goal was 100 and they were finished that day."

"This is a great project for Davis," said Smith. "It is tough since the subject is so close to home, but will be well worth it. And the hospital greatly appreciates his initiative and desire to help these families. These memento boxes will last us a long time."