October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in the United States and many other places around the world.  Pregnancy and infant loss knows no borders or boundaries and impacts families from every corner of the earth.  Families whose babies are born too soon, or pass away shortly after birth are just as loved and wanted as any other child.  In this situation, families need to say hello and goodbye, often at the same time.

A few years ago, the Cuddle Cot, a product developed by Flexmort, a company located in the United Kingdom, was introduced in order to give families the gift of time with a baby who had passed prior to or shortly after birth.  This discreet cooling system nestles into a bassinet or basket and creates a suitable location where a baby who has passed away can be placed, in order to remain in the hospital room or home of the grieving family.

The cooling system helps slow down the bodily deterioration of a baby who has passed.  It allows families to have their baby near them, and keep them close as they recover from the birth.  They can pick up and hold their baby as often as they want, and then place them back in the Cooling Cot which is kept in their room.  Siblings, families and friends  can visit and also meet the baby and support the family with less of a sense of urgency.

It is also possible to utilize the Cooling Cot at home, if the family chooses to bring their baby home and say goodbye in that environment.

Regardless of where and how families choose to say goodbye to their baby, the Cuddle Cot offers them an opportunity to do so in a respectful way, and provide after-death care without feeling the pressure of time as the body undergoes changes as a result of the death.

First found in England, the Cuddle Cot is now available and used all across the world.  There are still many facilities that do not have this product available for families, who then face having their child taken from them too early in order to accommodate the changes the body is undergoing.

Many families and organizations have undertaken fundraising efforts to make the Cuddle Cot more available and accessible in many locations, often donating them in the names of their children who they have lost too soon.

Do you know if the facilities in your area have Cuddle Cots available for grieving parents?  If not, might you consider fundraising efforts to procure them so that families can be offered the opportunity to spend time with their baby who passed too soon.  The cost runs around $3,000 USD

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