Unfortunately, some of the early discussions and decisions after the loss of your baby are around funerals and investigations such as autopsy. Each family will have unique wishes and requests for the care of their baby after a loss. Ask your healthcare provider any questions you have and let them know about your concerns.
Let your healthcare provider know if you have family customs or practices you would like to honour. Your baby’s care and your family’s care respect, recognize, and support cultural beliefs, values, and practices.
Your healthcare provider will talk with you about your wishes for your baby’s body. Your baby will be in the morgue at the hospital where you delivered, unless you have chosen an autopsy for your baby. You will need to make plans for the care of your baby within 1 week of death. It is provincial law that when a baby over 20 weeks of gestation is born and dies, the baby’s remains must receive appropriate burial or cremation. The funeral service provider you choose can help with this.
If you do not make these arrangements while you are in the hospital, the hospital social worker will call you to confirm the arrangements.
You may have the option to take your baby home with you for some time before having professional support with cremation or burial. Check with your healthcare team about your options.
Autopsy
It is normal to have questions and concerns about the possible reasons for your baby’s death. You may choose to have an autopsy or some testing for your baby.
An autopsy is a surgical examination after death to determine the cause of death. It is done by a specialist called a pathologist. You can ask for a limited or complete examination of your baby.
- In a limited autopsy, you can decide what should be examined. For example, you can ask that only the outside of the body is examined (called an external examination). This usually also includes photographs and x-rays of the body. You can also request any inside examination be limited to the chest or abdomen, for example, or be limited to specific organs like the heart and lungs. Or you can limit the examination to taking only small samples of skin or internal organs, called biopsies.
- A complete autopsy provides you and your healthcare team with the most information. It includes an examination of your baby’s outside body parts and internal organs, looking at small samples of tissue under a microscope, taking x-rays, and taking medical photographs. In some cases, if you agree, samples may be taken for laboratory tests like genetic tests or infectious studies.
Getting an autopsy does not necessarily mean there will be answers about why your baby died, but knowing more about your baby may help you with the grieving process. Autopsy may also find problems that could change the care and monitoring you get with a future pregnancy. Your doctor can help provide more information and answer any questions you may have
If you choose to have an autopsy for your baby, you will be asked to sign a consent form.
Some families feel like they want as much information as possible. For other families, an autopsy may not feel right. Your personal feelings, values, and beliefs are as important as finding the medical facts. Take time for you and your partner to think about what is most important to you when making this decision. You can speak to a social worker or spiritual care staff to help you during this difficult time.
