I used to think that people were usually embalmed not long after passing but grandma, my mom, brians mom and jammies mom, none of them were embalmed but maybe it was because they were cremated? Im not sure.

It's interesting what other cultures do with people who have passed. I do have a friend that lost her youngest son to gangrene (?). He was 4, diabetic and had twisted his ankle. They took him to the hospital and they wrapped it, and they wrapped it too tight. A few days later, they took him back in because he was sick. They unwrapped his leg, found the gangrene and that afternoon, his systems started fialing him. They transferred him to a childrens hospital a few hours away and he passed that night.
It was incredibly sad. When he passed, his momma wouldnt let go of him. The hospital saw just how bad her grief was and they knew they werent going to get that baby from her. They gave her and her husband the hospital room for the night but if he wasnt to be cremated, then they would have to do a closed casket funeral for him because the embalming process was going to be put off for too long.
She didnt care, she just wanted one last night to hold her son and grieve. It was incredibly sad.

I don't know if thats always the case but thats what she was told in this case. Also, her and her husband sued our hospital over this. Not sure of the outcome.