What is a cold cot?

I learned something new today – from two members of SANDS, the charity for supporting parents who’ve gone through the agony of having a stillborn child. They’re raising money for their local hospital to buy what’s called ‘cold cots’. I’d never heard of such a thing. But apparently many families want to spend time with their dead child – not just an hour or two but sometimes several days. And some even want to take their dead child home for a while. Astonishing at first, to those of us who’ve never been through such a tragedy – but entirely understandable to those who have. And for them, a cold cot, like the opposite of an electric blanket within a Moses basket, can help keep the baby in an appropriate way. 17 babies are stillborn every day here in the UK.