Funeral Services for Babies and Children
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For most, this information will be difficult to read.
The end-of-life processes for a newborn, a stillborn or a young child is a heart wrenching proposition.
A topic no one wants to think about, no one wants to learn about and very difficult to prepare for.
We know the reality of life is that we are all going to die at some point. For some, they live a long life; for others, circumstances around health or accident, give them a shorter life.
Humankind will never understand why a baby can be conceived yet not make it into life.
Certainly, research and advanced medical developments have given us reasons for a baby to be incompatible with life but for most people, having a child comes with hope for a future filled with love, joy, happiness and family.
Twenty weeks gestation is the midpoint of a pregnancy, where a fetus becomes registerable although, a baby born at 24+ weeks is more likely to survive with the support of a Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
At twenty weeks or more, the birth of a stillborn must be registered and can be done online through Service NSW and a birth certificate can be generated.
If the baby dies soon after birth, the baby must be registered for birth certificate.
A funeral director will register the death and organise the Death Certificate.
If a miscarriage or medical termination has occurred prior to twenty weeks of pregnancy, the baby does not need to be registered. However, an Early Loss Certificate can be applied for in New South Wales through Service NSW.
The Early Loss Certificate application must be signed by the treating doctor or midwife in the health professional’s declaration section.
As a Funeral Director in Sydney, I have considerable experience assisting parents who have suffered the loss of a baby through miscarriage, medical termination, stillbirth, infant, or child death.
Social Workers carry the initial load – the shock, the confusion and the uncertainty, and support the parent/s through the loss and heartbreak.
For some parents, a medical termination may have been necessary and access to the services of counselors and Social Workers may have already been in place.
By the time a Funeral Director is called, the burden is still heavy, but the parent/s have been guided by the Social Workers as to the next process.
On some occasions, the parent is still in hospital; sometimes they have been discharged. Wherever it is, I personal call to arrange a meeting at a time and place they feel comfortable.
It is not a requirement that every person who dies, whether it be an adult, child or stillborn has to have a funeral.
The heartbreak of losing a child is such a heavy burden to carry that in many instances, the parent/s decide not to have a funeral but to receive the cremated ashes for a quiet memorial of their own.
The memorial may be a simple and quite gathering to scatter the ashes in a favourite place.
Some may decide on creating a keepsake of the ashes by housing them in a decorative urn.
There may be cultural or religious needs that require a cremation or burial with a traditional or non-traditional funeral service.
A non-traditional funeral service may be an outdoor funeral in a park or a garden, on a beach, or in a home backyard and may be conducted by a funeral celebrant.
Traditional services are most often held in funeral venues such as churches officiated by the Parish Priest or Minister, or chapels in funeral homes or crematoriums where the funeral service is attended by family and friends with the option of funeral live streaming for those family members who are unable to attend.

At Eastern Suburbs Funerals we waive any cremation fees in most circumstances and business fees are not charged for children up to six years of age.
Other fees payable are for transfers, venue costs, statutory certificates, planner/arrangement fee, funeral venues, coffins, floral arrangements, or any other necessity to provide a suitable farewell to their child.
For a burial, cemeteries differ in their processes dependent on the area in Sydney that the burial is to occur. Eastern Suburbs Funerals can assist at the required time.
Making these decisions can be mind-numbing for a parent/s at possibly the most traumatic time of their life.
My immediate role is providing support, empathy and understanding.
When ready, I use my knowledge and experience to deliver a dignified and honorable farewelled.