Do most people name & bury a miscarried/stillborn baby?

Question

My mom has had both a miscarriage and a stillborn babies. The only thing I've heard about them is that they were miscarried and stillborn, and nothing after that, I've heard of no names, no genders, no graves, nothing, so I don't know if they have those things or not. Is it appropriate to name and bury miscarried and stillborn babies?

Answer 1

Still born births are generally given names and often have services, whether burial is included or cremation or...? Miscarriages on the other hand are usually not treated the same as they occur at various stages of pregnancy and fetal development. Often times the gender is unknown because the miscarriage occurs early in gestation. I would expect that much depends on the religious beliefs a particular individual might have to determine the manner in which remains are handled in either case.

Answer 2

See the below website, which has this question and answer:

Is it customary to have a funeral for a stillborn baby?
Yes, in fact state laws assign parents responsibility for "disposition" of their stillborn child's remains, either by burial or cremation. (Some states permit mothers who experience a miscarriage to bury the fetus.)

Perhaps this website can be an impetus toward finding out more about approaching this topic.

Answer 3

Usually when a child is miscarried in the first few weeks of pregnancy people do not name them or bury them for that matter but a stillborn, yes, generally if a person goes full term and delivers a baby that is dead or dies shortly thereafter they name it and bury it.

Answer 4

Some people do name them, and some do not. Oftentimes stillborn babies are given funerals and barried, but not always. It is up to the parents.

Often funeral homes do funerals for stillborns and very young infants for free or almost free. There was a petition recently in one of the states to try and give stillborns birth certificates and addition to death certificates or something. However all families deal with these things in their own way.

Answer 5

Ask your mum, maybe she has done this and she hasnt told you because she feels that maybe your not mature or old enough to handle the information. Mums do these kinds of things. I havent yet told my children i lost my first baby. But obviously you can handle this information because you are asking this question.
If she hasnt, it may be nice for you to give them names if you need to feel closure and say a little prayer to them. I feel that they were little souls but they are just growing up in heaven.

So as for apprpiateness,it depends on the length of the term that the baby has lived and i suppose what country but in australia i think it is mandatory to bury the baby after 18 weeks of pregnancy or somewhere around that age. If any questions call your local birth, deaths and marriages and query on this. And you could possibly apply to see if there are any death certificates for your family that you dont know about if your mum doesnt want to talk about it.It could still be very hard for her.

Just hang in there and approach the situation dellicately and give your mum a big kiss.
And dont forget your dad . They too get affected and people just seem to forget about them.

Answer 6

I would say the answer is yes. Many parents want their children to be named, especially if their dead/dying. They don't want their child to be a no-namer. If a child dies before their born, they might just have optional names. Some people don't though, because it might be harder to forget about them, (I don't mean that in a mean way). Many parents do have a funeral too, if they are able to. My mom had a miscarriage and I think she and my day had ideas for the baby, although they didn't know if it was a girl or boy.

Answer 7

Most stillborn babies are named and burried

Most miscarried babies are not unless they were far along. Most of the time the hospital "disposes' of them. Sad isnt it?

Answer 8

I've always heard it recommended that you name a miscarried or stillborn child. It helps with closure.

Answer 9

It's probably most common with stillborns. I'm sure people name their miscarriages, but they proabably don't bury them unless they are fairly well developed.

Answer 10

When I miscarried, I asked what my baby was. I found out it was a boy. I did name him...Mateo Tomas ( Matthew Thomas). According to my dr. due to the fetal age, the didn't do birth/death certificates so I was unable to bury him. Some people do that, but others don't have the heart to do that with their dead children. It's appropriate to name them, yes...Your mother may have never dealt with their deaths or may feel guilty about their deaths. You could ask her at some point about it, but don't push...she may still hurt about it deeply.