Why Continual Cooling Matters After Baby Loss – Insights from a Bereavement Expert

Supporting families after baby loss requires care, compassion, and practical solutions that allow parents to spend precious time with their baby. Siân Ness, Bereavement Consultant and Expert in caring for families experiencing perinatal loss, explains why continual cooling with the CuddleCot matters both physically and emotionally.

Consistent exposure to a low temperature slows natural post-mortem changes, which becomes particularly important when a family spends several days with their baby. Fluctuations between cold and warmer temperatures can accelerate microbial activity, and this is where the use of the CuddleCot provides an advantage. A baby being taken in and out of a typical cot is more vulnerable to these fluctuations than a baby who is swaddled continuously with temperature-controlled cooling pads. 

Mother Holds Baby using CuddleCot pads

There is also an important emotional and psychological aspect to consider. Parents often seek elements of ‘normality’ in circumstances that are anything but normal. Being able to swaddle their baby, hold them, and maintain the appearance of a peacefully sleeping, well wrapped baby creates gentler, more comforting memories. This experience is quite different from a scenario where their baby must remain on ice or a cold plate in an environment that does not resemble the setting they would normally be in.

With the CuddleCot, parents are able to choose how they spend time with their baby. Their baby can be held while swaddled with the unique temperature-controlled cooling pads in the parents’ arms, or gently placed, still swaddled with the pads, in a cot or bassinet beside them. From a trauma-informed perspective, this approach also supports parents’ mental health. Providing a more natural, familiar, and nurturing environment can reduce distress and contribute positively to their grieving process.

CuddleCot perinatal bereavement care device and reusable temperature controlled pads for pre and full-term loss

We provide trusted and evidence-based bereavement care toolkits and online bereavement care training for free at cuddlecot.com/training. We’re here to support healthcare teams with the knowledge and confidence to offer a higher level of care.

For more information contact: info@cuddlecot.com

Siân Ness

BSc (Hons) – Midwifery, RM 

MSc – Caring for families experiencing perinatal loss

Royal College of Midwives ‘Excellence in Bereavement Care’ Award Winner 2021

Bereavement Consultant & Relationship Manager 

Instagram: sian_cuddlecot

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