Everly's Law
What You need to Know About Perinatal Bereavement In Texas
Everly’s Law and Perinatal Bereavement Care
Everly’s Law (Texas House Bill 37) was passed to support families experiencing stillbirth or neonatal loss by compassionately offering bereavement care resources. This includes access to a perinatal bereavement device.
The Caring Cradle® helps hospitals meet the intent and requirements of Everly’s Law with a U.S.-based solution that is designed specifically for dignified perinatal bereavement with ease-of-use in mind for the hospital staff.
What Is Everly's Law?
Everly’s Law is Texas legislation requiring hospitals with a maternal level of care designation to make perinatal bereavement care available following:
- Intrauterine fetal demise
- Stillbirth
- Neonatal death
Hospitals must offer bereavement care counseling options and make perinatal bereavement devices accessible to their patients who have experienced this type of loss.
The law also established the Perinatal Bereavement Care Initiative, administered by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). This improves access, training, and resources statewide.
Perinatal Bereavement Care Services Required in Hospitals
DSHS.Texas.Gov
Caring Cradle® Aligns Perfectly with Everly’s Law
Caring Cradle® aligns with both the definition and intent of Everly’s Law by providing:
- A perinatal bereavement device designed for comfortable, extended bedside use
- Technology capable of delaying deterioration for at least 72 hours
- Non-medical, comfort-focused design appropriate for bereavement care
- Compatibility with hospital-developed bereavement policies
- Exceptional training and educational support for staff
(Hospital staff has found the Caring Cradle is extremely easy to use)
Texas does not mandate a specific device brand or model, opening the door for hospitals to select a solution that best meets their needs.
Through the Perinatal Bereavement Care Initiative, DSHS is supporting hospitals with devices, education, and training resources.
Caring Cradle® integrates smoothly into this initiative by offering scalable availability, alignment with state goals, and flexibility within hospital-led bereavement protocols.
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 Everly’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.
*Everly’s Law defines a perinatal bereavement device as technology capable of delaying tissue deterioration for up to 72 hours following loss.
Why Choose a U.S.-Based Perinatal Bereavement Device?
Texas agencies generally follow Buy American procurement standards. This requires documentation and approval when purchasing foreign-manufactured products.
For hospitals implementing Everly’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 Everly’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 Everly’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: Everly’s Law & Caring Cradle®
What is Everly’s Law in Texas?
Everly’s Law (Texas House Bill 37) requires hospitals with a maternal level of care designation to offer perinatal bereavement care following stillbirth or neonatal death, including counseling options and access to a perinatal bereavement device when available.
Does Everly’s Law require hospitals to provide a cooling device?
Everly’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 Everly’s Law?
A perinatal bereavement device is defined as technology capable of delaying the deterioration of human tissue for up to 72 hours following intrauterine fetal demise, stillbirth, or neonatal death.
Does Everly’s Law require a specific brand of perinatal cooling device?
No. Everly’s Law does not require hospitals to use a specific brand or model of perinatal bereavement device.
Is Caring Cradle compliant with Everly’s Law?
Yes. Caring Cradle is designed for perinatal bereavement care and aligns with the definition and intent of Everly’s Law.
Is Caring Cradle a medical device?
No. Caring Cradle is a non-medical bereavement support device intended to provide families time with their baby, not medical treatment.
Where can a perinatal bereavement device be used in a hospital?
Perinatal bereavement devices may be used in labor and delivery units, postpartum areas, NICU settings, emergency rooms, Hospice settings, or other designated bereavement spaces according to hospital policy.
Why choose a U.S.-based perinatal bereavement device?
A U.S.-based perinatal bereavement device can simplify procurement, reduce compliance documentation, and provide faster support for hospitals implementing Everly’s Law.
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
