Understanding Cooling for Babies After Loss: Common Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions about cooling after loss, from how long a baby can stay with their parents to whether they can be taken home. In reality, every family’s journey is unique, and the CuddleCot is designed to provide choice, time, and dignity.

CuddleCot Bereavement Consultant and Relationship Manager, Sian Ness, answers common misconceptions in our latest informative article.

The CuddleCot is loud when it is in use

The CuddleCot is quiet and discreet. It uses whisper-quiet technology that produces a similar sound to a small desk fan.

The CuddleCot takes hours to cool

False, the CuddleCot will cool baby in 10-15 minutes providing baby is wrapped in their blanket with the CuddleCot reusable foil and temperature controlled cooling pad.

The CuddleCot can be used straight away

True — the CuddleCot can be used immediately after loss. Early use helps slow natural changes and allows baby to remain with their parents, rather than being taken to the morgue. This enables healthcare professionals to focus on providing compassionate, family-led care instead of managing time-consuming and distressing morgue transfers.

A baby must always remain in the same place 

The CuddleCot gently cools baby and helps to slow down the natural changes that occur after death.

The baby is gently laid on the CuddleCot cooling pad; both the baby and the mat are then wrapped in a blanket so that parents can comfortably and confidently hold their baby, without fear of temperature fluctuations. Given that the mat is entirely flexible and portable, the CuddleCot can be used with any cot, bed or bassinet, at home or within a hospital or funeral home setting. 

Some parents choose to take baby home with them and use the CuddleCot to keep them close by whilst they make funeral arrangements.

You must decide immediately whether you would like to use a CuddleCot

The healthcare professional caring for the family should offer the use of a cooling device on more than one occasion. This may be sensitively discussed before or after a baby is born, the use of professional judgement and an individualised approach to bereavement care is essential. The parents can then choose to use or stop using a cooling device for their baby at a time that is right for them.

There is no right or wrong; any decision to use a CuddleCot is unique to the parents. They should feel supported in their decision, with the choices they make respected, and they should be reminded that they can change their mind at any time. It is imperative to ensure that the baby and their family are treated with dignity and respect.

A baby should only remain in the CuddleCot for a certain number of hours/days

There is no evidence to support how long a baby should remain with the parents or how long they should be actively cooled after death. The emphasis is on the individual needs and wishes of the family. Care should be entirely family focused. Parents should be sensitively informed of the expected physical changes to their baby following death (i.e. colour changes, skin integrity and leakage of body fluids, odour). They should be reassured that these changes are expected and may be minimised by the correct use of the CuddleCot. If the parents become concerned, they can contact their Funeral Director or designated nurse/midwife.

A baby will warm as they are cuddled. 

As long as baby is securely swaddled and in direct contact with the cooling pad, their temperature will be maintained even if the room temperature fluctuates. The CuddleCot provides continuous, gentle cooling through temperature-controlled pre- and full-term pads, with a verifiable digital display for reassurance. Because it actively cools whatever is in direct contact with the pad, baby remains consistently cooled, whether in a bassinet or being held.

A baby shouldn’t be passed around

Parents should be advised that they can care and handle their baby as they wish including bathing, dressing and cuddling, however over handling may increase the rate of deterioration. This is due to friction that may occur to delicate skin and tissues caused by excessive handling. The role of the healthcare professional is to make parents aware of the choices available to them, following their baby’s death, and to support their decision making. 

A baby cannot go home from hospital

All bereaved parents should receive information about the option of taking their baby home. A health professional should talk them through the practicalities involved and any emotional support offered. The parents’ decision will be individual to them and must be supported and respected”. (SANDS, 2015)

Following the death of a baby, some parents decide to take their baby home from the hospital or hospice before the funeral for a short time. All bereaved parents should be offered the opportunity to take their baby’s body home and healthcare professionals must empower parents to care for their baby at home

This isn’t necessarily the right option for all families but for some it brings immense comfort. For a bereaved parent, taking your baby home provides you with the opportunity to spend time with them privately and in comforting, familiar surroundings.

Potential benefits for parents who want to take their baby home include:

• Spending time with their baby away from a clinical setting and an opportunity to say goodbye in the privacy of their own home.
• Time to introduce their baby to siblings, extended family and friends and to recognise the baby’s place within the family.
• Greater opportunities to create precious memories with their baby.
• An opportunity to parent and care for their baby in the place they envisaged doing so.

Parents may also want to take their baby to a place away from the home that has special significance to them.

Cuddling a baby will make the parents feel cold

The CuddleCot is specially designed to cool whatever comes into direct contact with it, therefore irrelevant of where or how the baby is handled, they are consistently being actively cooled. Given that the parent’s are not in direct contact with the cooling mat, they will not feel cold. The cool air becomes trapped within the swaddle, creating a perfect environment for cooling the baby. 

The overall condition of a baby will not deteriorate at all whilst using the CuddleCot. 

Keeping the baby’s body cold reduces the rate of decomposition by slowing the growth of bacteria that contribute to the decomposition process. The rate at which natural changes occur may also be affected by other factors (maternal infection, gestation, length of time since death in utero etc).

It is important that parents are aware of some physical changes that may occur to the baby’s overall condition. The colour of their baby’s skin and lips may change over time, and parents may notice some peeling of their skin as it becomes fragile. This is often more evident on their hands, feet and wrists but can occur in other places too.

It is also not unusual for small amounts of watery fluid to leak from the baby’s nose after he/she has died. Although this can be difficult for the parents to see, it is nothing to be alarmed by and can be wiped away gently using a soft tissue or baby wipe. They should be reassured that these changes are expected and may be minimised by the correct use of the CuddleCot.