In Today’s Issue:

🔗 The best resources I found this week
📖 Deep dive: Cooling Units in Bereavement Care – With Wendy Kowalski

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🔗 The Best Resources I Found This Week

🌟 Understanding cooling facilities as a ritual form of mourning in pediatric palliative care. Mortality Journal

🛏️ How cold bedrooms support bereaved parents in UK children’s hospices. Palliative Medicine - PMC

🧸 Bereaved parents share their experiences with cooling facilities and how it cushioned their grief. Palliative Medicine - PMC

👩‍⚕️ Healthcare staff’s perspectives on using cooling units following baby loss in UK maternity units. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth - PMC

📖 Deep Dive

Cooling Units in Bereavement Care – With Wendy Kowalski

This week’s deep dive focuses on cooling units: what they are, why they're important, and answers from Wendy Kowalski, inventor of the Caring Cradle®.

Q: Who is Wendy Kowalski?

Wendy Kowalski is the inventor and owner of the Caring Cradle, a specialized cooling unit designed to give families more time with their baby following infant loss. With a background in manufacturing, she created a plug-and-play cooling solution that minimizes setup and maintenance.

Q: Why do hospitals use cooling units?

Wendy: Cooling units help delay natural changes to a baby’s body after death, giving families hours or days to say goodbye, hold their child, and create memories. While commonly used in the UK for some time, the US started widely adopting these in labor and delivery settings about a decade ago. “Parents need time that isn’t rushed.

Q: When did hospitals start using cooling units?

The United Kingdom pioneered cooling units in children's hospices beginning in the 1990s-early 2000s, with documented use by 2002. By the 2010s, cooling units became standard practice in UK maternity and neonatal units, and today over 95% of British, Scottish, and Irish hospitals and hospices use them as routine bereavement care.​​

The United States adopted cooling technology later, entering the market in 2013. Adoption has accelerated across the US since then, with recent legislative momentum—including Texas HB 37 (2025), which mandates hospitals offer cooling units to families experiencing infant loss—signaling growing recognition of this as essential bereavement care.

Q: What physical features of the baby does a cooling unit help preserve?

Wendy explains that cooling units help slow several natural changes that occur after the death of a baby. These include delaying skin peeling and preserving skin color and texture, helping the baby maintain a closer-to-life appearance for families during their time together. The cooling also slows the body's natural breakdown processes, which supports making memories without harsh physical changes appearing too quickly. Proper cooling preserves these features longer, providing families with precious time while maintaining the dignity of their child.

Q: How do cooling facilities support grieving parents?

Multiple studies have demonstrated that cooling facilities allow parents control over the grieving process, enabling them to decide when and how to say goodbye and to plan funerals thoughtfully. This autonomy is key to processing such a profound loss. See the collection of supporting studies in Hackett et al. (2022) full text, Forrester (2008) abstract, Smith et al. (2020) full text, and De Clercq et al. (2024)

Q: What’s the difference between the Caring Cradle and the CuddleCot, and how should units decide?

Wendy: “Both cooling units do the same basic job: they cool the baby so families can spend time and make memories. Some hospitals value the CuddleCot for its portability and at-home options—it uses water, tubing, and chemicals, so it requires assembly. It needs to be completely dry before storage, and might need more care to avoid mold or damage.

The Caring Cradle is a closed, plug-and-play system with no water, tubes, or chemical additives needed. It’s mainly intended for hospital use. There’s no staff monitoring needed and no alarms.

Each allows families to hold their baby comfortably while maintaining the cooling effect. This extended cold time supports uninterrupted closeness, giving families precious moments to say goodbye while preserving the baby’s appearance and dignity.

Wendy also stresses, “I want hospitals to use whatever works for them—reach out to the vendor, whether it’s us or someone else, for training. It doesn’t matter which unit as long as it’s being used safely and families have the support they need.”

Q: What are common questions or misconceptions about cooling units?

Training and confidence gaps. Staff sometimes feel intimidated by setup procedures. When training is missing, units sit unused—and that's a missed opportunity for families. Wendy's advice is straightforward: reach out to the vendor for support. That's exactly why the Caring Cradle was designed as a simple plug-and-play system—to remove barriers and build staff confidence.

The "cold baby" concern. Some worry families won't want to hold a baby that feels cold. The goal isn't just more time—it's meaningful time. Keeping the baby cool preserves their natural appearance and color, making those moments together more beautiful for everyone involved. That's the loving choice.

Infection control matters. If your unit uses tubing or water-based systems, don't rush the cleaning and drying process. Everything must be fully sanitized before storage. Water-based systems with fabric or tubing need to be completely dry before being put away to prevent mold and deterioration. It takes a little extra care, but it's essential for safety.

Q: What does the research say about how families feel about cooling units?

Studies report that families generally want options and time, not pressure. Cooling units let families control their goodbye—whether that means a few hours or a couple days. Staff and families sometimes notice color and temperature changes, so part of best practice is just preparing families for what’s normal and expected with cooling, using gentle language. “Always focus on keeping the baby looking as beautiful as possible and prepare the family if changes happen.”

Q: How many cooling units does a hospital need?

Wendy advises hospitals base the number on actual loss volume rather than maternity size. Smaller units may only need one, busier hospitals 2 to 4 or more, and different sizes may be needed for early or late losses.

Wendy shared a great story: “There was a mom who experienced the loss of her baby and was able to use a cooling unit during that time. Unfortunately, the mother in the next room, who also had a stillborn, did not have the same opportunity because the hospital only had one unit. That mom was deeply affected by it. In response, she took matters into her own hands and purchased a cooling unit for the hospital so that no other family would have to face the heartbreak of missing out on that precious time.”

Wendy was happy to report that their sales have dramatically shifted—from primarily being donated by parents to, more recently, hospitals purchasing nearly 90% of Caring Cradles showing a clear institutional commitment to bereavement care as standard practice. This shift signals that hospitals recognize cooling units are no longer optional add-ons, but essential investments in family-centered care.

Q: How do hospitals pay for cooling units today?

Hospital foundations, grants, and even county funds now drive most purchases. “A caring community or donor can make a difference, but increasingly, it’s the hospital itself seeing the need.” Wendy recently noted that Summit County, OH, bought one unit per county hospital, and another Philadelphia county is set to follow.

Q: Final thoughts by Wendy.

“It’s about kindness and options. Just make sure your team is trained, the unit is clean, and families are supported. If there’s only one demise a year, it still matters to have a cooling unit and to be ready.”

👋 That’s a Wrap!

Before you go: Here are ways we can help your hospital

We offer bereavement boxes to give as gifts to those who leave the hospital after a miscarriage, stillborn, or infant death. Reply to this email “Sample” to get a free sample sent to your hospital.

What we prioritize:

1. Tools for hospitals to create a bereavement experience for families to begin their grief journey

2. Educating nurses with modern bereavement standards and continuing education.

3. Helping hospitals build a foundation of trust and support, so bereaved families feel seen and cared for—now and in the years to come.

These boxes were born out of our own personal losses, including Jay’s (CEO) 15 years of experience working in labor and delivery as a CRNA and witnessing time and again how the hospital experience can profoundly shape a family’s grief journey, for better or for worse.

Until next week,

Trina and Jay
Co-founders of Forget Me Not