After a stillbirth, many parents want to see and hold their baby. This is entirely up to you. You will be given some quiet time with your baby if this is what you want.
You can take photographs of your baby and keep mementos, such as a lock of hair, foot prints or hand prints, or the blanket that your baby was wrapped in at birth. You may also want to name your baby. However, not everyone does and again, it is up to you.
Counselling
You may be offered some bereavement counselling, which can be a great source of support. See getting help after a stillbirth for more information.
You may be introduced to a bereavement support officer or a bereavement midwife. They usually work in hospitals or as part of the local council. They can help you with any paperwork that needs to be completed and explain the choices you can make about your baby’s funeral. They will also be able to act as a point of contact for other healthcare professionals.
Finding the cause
The baby's mother may be offered some tests that might find the cause of the stillbirth. These include:
- blood tests: which may show that the mother has pre-eclampsia (a problem with the placenta) or, rarely, diabetes
- testing for infections: a sample of urine, blood or cells from the vagina or cervix (the neck of the womb) can be tested
- thyroid function test: to see whether the mother has a condition that affects her thyroid gland
There are also tests that can be carried out on your baby to try to establish the cause of death or any conditions that might have contributed to your baby’s death.
Post-mortem
A post-mortem is an examination of your baby’s body and is undertaken by a specialist doctor called a perinatal pathologist. The examination can provide more information about why your baby died, which may be particularly important if you plan to become pregnant in the future.
A post-mortem cannot go ahead without your written consent and you will be asked if you want your baby to have one. The procedure can involve a number of tests, such as examining your baby’s organs in detail, looking at blood and tissue samples and carrying out diagnostic genetic testing to see whether your baby has a genetic disease.
The healthcare professional who asks for your consent will explain the different options so that you can decide whether you want your baby to have a post-mortem and, if you do, which tests you want the perinatal pathologist to carry out.
Read more about post-mortems.
Registering a stillbirth
By law, all babies who are stillborn after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy must be registered. Registering a stillbirth gives the parents an opportunity to acknowledge their baby’s birth. It is also important for statistical records.
Stillbirths must usually be registered within 42 days and they cannot be registered more than three months after the birth. Once the stillbirth has been registered you cannot change your baby’s name (if you decide to name them).
See the DirectGov website about registering or changing a stillbirth record and how to get help with it.
