Autopsy
Birth and death certificates
Rituals, ceremonies and funeral arrangements
If the pregnancy is quite advanced, (15 to 16 weeks+) parents are usually encouraged to see and spend time with the baby after they are born and caregivers will generally offer opportunities for you to say goodbye and obtain mementos. You may spend several minutes or several hours with your baby. Some parents even choose to take their baby home with them for a while.
Try to take time to consider what you would like to do before the birth. You may want to make definite plans, or see how you feel and make decisions on the way. Even if you do make plans, it is normal for parents to change their mind and caregivers should try to accommodate this as much as possible. What you do is totally up to you. However, this is a time-sensitive window of opportunity and it is not uncommon for parents to express regret if they did not get a chance to say goodbye in a more involved way.
If the baby is big enough, you may want to hold, bathe and dress them, or the staff may bathe them while you watch. Many parents see this as a way of doing something physical and nurturing for their baby. If they are quite small, you may want to just wrap them in a special blanket that you can keep later. It is very normal and natural for parents to feel frightened about seeing and holding their small, frail and possibly deformed baby. The reality is that most parents are relieved when they see their child and often use this time to release some of their emotional pain.
Spending time with your baby can help you to feel more in touch with the reality of what has happened and may give you an opportunity to get to know your baby more, as well as possibly saying what you need to communicate to them. You may also want to involve other siblings (or relatives) in saying goodbye.
During the time you are together, you can take photos and possibly foot and hand prints.