Angel's Law, Senate Bill 32 (SB32)
What You need to Know About Perinatal Bereavement In Louisiana
Angel’s Law and Perinatal Bereavement Care
Early May 2026, Louisiana joined other states in taking a historical step to recognize and support families facing unimaginable perinatal infant loss by passing the ‘Angel’s Law’ initiative, also known as Senate Bill 32.
SB32 will take effect on
August 1, 2026, and will coordinate with the Commission on Perinatal Care and Prevention of Infant Mortality and nonprofit organizations to provide resources to hospitals with a maternity unit or a neonatal intensive care unit.
What are these resources?
What Is Angel's Law (LA SB32)?
Under Senate Bill 32 (LA SB32), the Department of Health is directed to provide hospitals with a perinatal cooling device. Angel’s Law is Louisiana legislation that requires hospitals with a maternity unit or neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to provide access to perinatal bereavement support services following:
- Intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD)
- Stillbirth
- Neonatal death
- In hospital infant loss
The law also encourages hospitals to make perinatal cooling devices available to families and provide education and training for staff on compassionate bereavement care practices.
Hospitals will coordinate with the
Louisiana Commission on Perinatal Care and Prevention of Infant Mortality and nonprofit organizations to improve access to bereavement resources, training, and support for grieving families.
Louisiana Department of Health
LDH.LA.GOV
Angel's Law (LA SB32) Resources
This state bill will make it much easier to secure funding for a Caring Cradle at your hospital. Hospitals will gain access to better provide support services such as:
Training for hospital personnel to interact with parents and family members following intrauterine fetal demise, neonatal death, or stillbirth.
Education for staff on use of the device. Any nursing staff using a perinatal cooling device shall either receive training on use of the device or complete a perinatal bereavement certificate program.
Obtaining perinatal cooling device, the Caring Cradle, that is available to any family that experiences an intrauterine fetal demise, neonatal death, stillbirth, or infant death at the hospital. Why Caring Cradle?
Identifying available perinatal bereavement services for parents and family members, including
grief counseling and support groups.
Caring Cradle® Aligns Perfectly with Angel’s Law
Because of Angel’s Law, hospitals will have an easier time securing funding and approval to have Caring Cradle® available for patients.
- The Caring Cradle is a reliable perinatal cooling device engineered specifically for the hospital environment for IUFD, neonatal death, and stillbirth.
- Designed in two sizes to accommodate full term and preemie loss.
- A completely self-contained device so staff do not need to monitor or add any additional things to the unit.
- Training is easy with a simple 10-minute training video.
- The Caring Cradles arrive ready to use with no replacement parts, routine care or hazardous chemicals, minimizing staff stress.
- Designed to be easy to use and clean. Staff only need to wipe the unit down with their choice of hospital grade cleaning products, nothing to send to launder.
- The Caring Cradle is manufactured in the United States, and our team is available to you 24/7.
We are thankful for the lawmakers, organizations and families that continue to push for change. No parent should ever have to experience such an unimaginable loss, but with the Caring Cradle we hope to give those families the time they need.
DESIGNED FOR HOSPITAL
The unit arrives complete, assembled, and ready to assist staff and families. The bassinet and cart’s simple, modern design includes four easy glide locking wheels that allow for quiet, secure setup and removal. The cooling mechanisms are stored securely in the hex locked section of the cabinet and are never visible to families.
SIMPLE SETUP
Setup for use is simple and requires no staff monitoring or management. We recommend the unit be plugged in for approximately 30 minutes before anticipated use. This allows the entire bassinet to reach the desired temperature. Once set up and plugged in the unit can operate for three days or longer depending on the family’s needs.
EASY TO CLEAN
Our cradles are designed with all non-porous materials, making them easy to sanitize between uses. The cart design features a powder-coated metal finish and the bassinets are made of durable recycled vinyl with a plastic fill that allows the use of any commercial-grade or bleach-based cleaner.
The Role of Perinatal Bereavement Devices with Angel’s Law
Perinatal bereavement devices allow families more time. Time to hold their baby, gather loved ones, honor their cultural and religious traditions, and to say goodbye without feeling rushed by their medical provider.
These devices do not provide medical treatment. They are designed to delay natural changes for a period,* providing that extra time for families to grieve with privacy and dignity.
*Angel’s Law broadly defines a perinatal bereavement device as technology capable of delaying tissue deterioration in stillborn babies and infants who have passed away.
Why Choose a U.S.-Based Perinatal Bereavement Device?
Louisiana agencies generally follow Buy American procurement standards. This requires documentation and approval when purchasing foreign-manufactured products.
For hospitals implementing Angel’s Law under time and budget constraints, the domestic option streamlines maintaining compassionate care standards.
Caring Cradle® is supported by U.S.-based product and liability insurance and operates under U.S. business and legal frameworks. This provides hospitals with clear, familiar pathways for documentation, support, and recourse should questions ever arise.
By contrast, working with an overseas manufacturer may introduce additional layers of complexity related to jurisdiction, insurance coverage, and dispute resolution—factors hospitals often prefer to avoid when implementing new programs tied to state requirements.
Choosing a U.S.-based perinatal bereavement device helps ensure that procurement, coverage, and accountability align with standard hospital risk management practices, without adding unnecessary administrative burden.
Choosing the U.S.-based option, Caring Cradle®, offers your hospital:
- Simplified procurement and compliance
- Faster fulfillment and replacement timelines
- More localized support and communication
(We are located out of Florida)
- No dependency on international supply chains
- US-based product and liability insurance
Caring Cradle® exists to give families time when time matters most, while also helping hospitals provide compliant, compassionate care under Angel’s Law.
The Caring Cradle is self-contained. There are never any fluids to be replaced, wasted, or disposed of. There are no parts to replace. There are not any additional costs to the hospital to keep the unit running as intended. Nurses have nothing to track or reorder. Other than wiping the unit down following each use, with a hospital-approved cleaner made for similar materials, the unit requires no further attention.
A gift of time for mothers & family members
Mothers report that having this extra time is a treasured resource to draw on for the years to follow: helping them grieve, finding their way to celebrate, and most importantly, remembering their child.
Learn more about the Caring Cradle
If your hospital is preparing to implement Angel’s Law or expand perinatal bereavement care services, Caring Cradle® can help.
Contact us to learn more about availability, implementation support, and how Caring Cradle fits into your bereavement care program.
Contact Us
Frequently Asked Questions: Angel’s Law & Caring Cradle®
What is Angel’s Law in Louisiana?
Angel’s Law (Louisiana Senate Bill 32) establishes a statewide perinatal bereavement care initiative to support families experiencing intrauterine fetal demise, stillbirth, neonatal death, or infant loss. The law coordinates resources for hospitals with maternity units or neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), including staff education, bereavement support resources, and access to perinatal cooling devices.
Does Angel’s Law require hospitals to provide a cooling device?
Angel’s Law requires hospitals to make any available perinatal bereavement device accessible to families following stillbirth or neonatal death, for the length of stay recommended by a medical professional.
What qualifies as a perinatal bereavement device under Angel’s Law?
Under Angel’s Law, a perinatal bereavement device is intended to help preserve the infant’s condition following intrauterine fetal demise, stillbirth, neonatal death, or infant death, allowing families additional time for bonding and grieving in the hospital setting.
The most dignified, comfortable means to spend time with a baby following infant loss
The Caring Cradle is designed to assist the nurse, requiring no supervision, monitoring, or maintenance. It does not have any tubes, wires, or fluids to monitor or replace. It does not require replacement parts.
Once the unit is plugged in, it may be left to run continuously, for days, with no intervention. The Caring Cradle frees nurses from remaining bedside with a distraught mother because now the mother has what she wants at that moment, more private, uninterrupted time with her baby.
The Caring Cradle allows families to spend extra time with their baby and more time for memory making. The design of the Caring Cradle makes it easy to keep baby close to the parents. This has been a game changer in providing care to families through an unimaginable loss.
Tricia R.
Program Coordinator of Perinatal Bereavement & Postpartum Emotional Support in Kansas
