Information for Families

Having a post-mortem after the loss of your baby or child

Please be aware that the following information may be distressing to some readers. 

Download a printable version of information for parents after the loss of your baby
Download a printable version of information for parents after the loss of your child

We offer our condolences if you, or someone close to you, has suffered the loss of a child. We understand that the loss of your child is a painful time, so we are committed to supporting and caring for you and your family as you navigate this difficult experience.

The loss of your child may raise important questions that can affect your grieving process. The decision of whether to have an examination of your child’s body is a personal one. A post-mortem examination is a detailed examination of your child and is performed by a specialist pathologist. This process can provide valuable information for you and your family. Some parents understandably find this request overwhelming at such a difficult time.

Please be assured that the examination will not compromise your ongoing contact with your child, and we will work with you to respect your pastoral, spiritual or religious needs. The post-mortem examination will be performed in such a way that you will still be able to spend time with your child following the completion of the examination.

More detailed information about the post-mortem process is available in the ‘Having a post-mortem after the loss of your baby’ and ‘Having a post-mortem after the loss of your child’ . Please take your time in reading this information and understanding the options available to you.

Viewings

Perth Children’s Hospital mortuary has a viewing room where parents, families or other people who are important to you can see and spend time with your child.

These viewings are by appointment as arranged with PCH staff. Families are provided with an allocated PCH contact from nursing, pastoral care, or social work, who will liaise with mortuary staff. Your PCH contact will remain with you during the viewing.

Viewings can be arranged within business hours Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm. If required, out of hours viewings can be coordinated by your PCH contact.

Translated Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Your permission, or consent, is needed before a post-mortem can proceed; a senior clinician will discuss this with you.

If you consent to a post-mortem, you will be asked to consider what type of post-mortem you are providing permission for, and to specify how tissue and organs removed for examination during a post-mortem will be looked after. For example, it is sometimes helpful to retain an organ to allow a more detailed examination.

You can determine how long an organ can be retained, and how it will be taken care of at the end of the examination. These matters will be discussed with you by the doctor helping you with the consent process.

It is important to know that whatever your decision, your child is always treated with care. The post-mortem is performed in such a way that you will be able to see and hold your child after the procedure.

This is an examination performed after death to provide as much information as possible to explain what happened to your child. The examination is performed by a medical specialist called a Paediatric and Perinatal Pathologist who is experienced and trained specifically in this area.

There are three types of examination: external, full and limited.

The consent form contains separate options for each type of examination. For an external examination, Part 2a should be completed, for a full examination Part 2b, and for a limited examination, Part 2c.

A more complete examination (such as a full examination) allows a pathologist to provide a more informative final report.

A full examination is the most detailed type of post-mortem. This will allow the pathologist to examine all the organs, to obtain the most information possible. To perform the autopsy, incisions are made along the chest, abdomen (tummy) and to the scalp. After the post-mortem these incisions will be delicately repaired and will not be visible when your child is returned to you, carefully dressed.

A limited examination is usually performed when the baby/child is known to have a specific condition, for example with the heart or the brain. This examination is limited only to a specific area as specified on the consent form. This includes examination for genetic investigation only.

There may also be times when your medical practitioner has advised that genetic studies be performed after your child has died.

In these instances, a limited post-mortem can be performed such as:

  • Examination of the abdominal and chest organs with no head incisions
  • Examination of chest organs only
  • Examination of abdominal organs only
  • Examination of head only
  • Examination to sample tissue for genetic investigation only

The decision is entirely up to you. To perform a limited autopsy, an incision is made as determined by the pathologist. This will be delicately repaired and will not be visible when your child is returned to you, carefully dressed. Your healthcare professional can provide more information about the process.

During an external examination only the outside of the child’s body is examined. This type of post-mortem means no incisions are made, and no internal organs are studied. Information is gathered from the clinical photographs, measurements, and x-rays.

No, non-Coronial mortuaries do not offer CT scanning or imaging other than basic radiology as part of the post-mortem examination.

Each examination, including an external examination, includes the following steps: A standard set of measurements (such as body weight and height, to determine how a child has grown) An external examination of the body (to look at how body structures and limbs have developed).  

This depends on the type of examination you have consented to.

  • External examination no cuts/incisions are made.
  • Limited examination cuts/incisions are made to the area of the body outlined in consent, as determined by the pathologist.
  • Full examination incisions/cuts are made along the chest, abdomen (tummy) and to the scalp.

If incisions have been made these are delicately repaired after the examination and will not be visible when your child is dressed.

The pathologist may take clinical photographs and/or x-rays. This decision is based on what the underlying disease process may be.

Please also be aware that the pathologist may share clinical photographs, x-rays, and the report with other clinicians particularly when the case is very complicated and extra information is required, or a second opinion is being sought.

Although a post-mortem is a very specialised examination, it is not always possible to determine the cause of death or explain all the findings.

The preliminary and final post-mortem reports, detailing the findings of the examination and any additional tests will be sent to the doctor/s named on the consent form.

There may also be instances where the pathologist (doctor performing the post-mortem) may need to consult with other clinicians. This may include sharing of clinical photographs, x-rays, and the report. This occurs when the case is very complicated and extra information is required, or a second opinion is being sought.

Yes, a child who dies outside of the hospital may have a non-coronial autopsy. The treating clinician will need to complete a post-mortem consent form as per usual practice. The post-mortem coordinator can assist with this process. The PCH mortuary staff will arrange the transport of the child to the appropriate PathWest facility for post-mortem. A Paediatric Pathologist will perform the post-mortem. To discuss the post-mortem and request the transfer, please contact the PCH mortuary staff.
No, you don’t. It’s important to reach decisions you are comfortable with, and we understand that this may take some time. No examination of your child will be performed without your consent.

For a full or limited post-mortem examination, small specimens (about the size of a pea) are routinely taken from every major organ for microscopy to detect disease. This is like a biopsy taken during life. Similar sized samples may be taken for testing by other departments (e.g. genetics, microbiology, and virology). A small piece of tissue is also taken for storage for further testing (such as genetics). The decision of what tissue is taken is determined by the pathologist at the time of the post-mortem. The results of these additional tests are included in the final report.

Unless permission is granted all tissues not used for further testing, or tissue that is stored (such as frozen tissue), are returned to the body at completion of the post-mortem.

This tissue is processed into a paraffin block from which a microscope slide is produced. The pathologist will study the slide under the microscope to determine if there is any disease. The blocks and slides are kept indefinitely as part of your child’s record and can be referred to at a later stage.

There are several reasons tissue is taken for storage. Firstly, the pathologist may not be sure what extra testing to do (such as genetic testing) on the day the post-mortem is performed. This is especially true when the examination is complex. It is very useful to have frozen tissue available to send for additional testing once the pathologist has a clear understanding of what the underlying disease process may be.

Secondly, medical science (and especially the field of genetics) is growing rapidly, and it is very helpful to have tissue available for advanced testing. The tissue that is taken is frozen at -80 degrees in a special process and is kept at a PathWest laboratory for up to 20 years. This tissue may be used for later for testing, especially genetic testing.
No. Unless you provide your consent for an organ to be retained, all organs are returned to the body. However, as some organs such as the brain cannot be examined satisfactorily without chemical treatment (this is called fixation), you may be asked by your healthcare professional before the postmortem begins, to give PathWest permission to keep the organ a little longer and to complete part 3 of the consent form.

If permission is granted and an organ is retained for fixation, the options for cremation and burial include:

  1. Delay cremation or burial until examination is complete (this may take up to two weeks) or;
  2. Proceed with cremation or burial and have a separate interment later

Over the past decade, there has been a tremendous growth in the understanding of the genetic basis for disease and congenital disorders. Genetic testing is a very complicated process and needs to be performed in a specialised laboratory. The testing can be done at the time of the postmortem, or after, or both, depending on the underlying disease process. It is usual practice to remove a small pea-sized piece of tissue (for example from the muscle in a full or limited post-mortem, or from the umbilical cord in an external post-mortem) which is then taken and frozen in a special process. The tissue is then either sent to the genetics laboratory, or stored, or both. You can give or decline consent for genetic testing to be performed by ticking the” yes” or ” no” box in Part 2a or 2b or 2c of the consent form. Whilst genetic testing is very sophisticated, it may not always provide an answer. Sometimes a genetic test may indicate that other family members could be a carrier of disease and should be tested. Your doctor can discuss the implications of genetic testing with you; this is a separate consenting process to the post-mortem examination.

The law allows the use of tissue for other purposes such as research, training and education, and quality assurance purposes. For example, researchers may wish to study post-mortem tissue. Consent to allow tissue to be available for ethical research, or other purposes, can be given with the post-mortem consent process. It is important to note that all research must be consistent with the National Health and Medical Research Council National Statement on ethical conduct in research involving humans and approved by the hospital ethics team. All tissue will be de-identified, ensuring protection of you and your child’s identity.

If you do not want your child’s tissue to be used for research, quality assurance or education you can strike out the applicable words in the relevant section of Part 2a, 2b or 2c.

Following the examination, the pathologist will write a report for the doctor who cared for you and your child, detailing their findings. This takes 6 to 8 weeks to complete.

The information contained in this report allows your healthcare professional to discuss with you why your baby/child died, and the risks for future pregnancies. You can also ask for a report in non-technical language (called the Plain Language Report) when signing the consent form.

Please note that both the technical and non-technical post-mortem report can only be sent to the doctor nominated on the consent form.

A preliminary report is available 2 to 3 working days after the examination.

The full post-mortem report is issued 6 to 8 weeks after the examination.

Please note reports are never sent directly to parents.

The post-mortem report is a complex medical document. It is necessary that these findings are discussed with a medical practitioner to have the findings explained and any questions answered. It may also be appropriate to plan a further care pathway.

A plain language report is a report completed by the pathologist detailing his/her findings of a post-mortem examination in non-technical language. These reports can be requested when completing the post-mortem examination consent form or at any time following.

Reminder: Technical and plain language reports will not be sent directly to parents. When these reports are requested, the name of a doctor who is able to explain the findings, a GP, obstetrician or other doctor must be provided.

The post-mortem examination may take place at one of three PathWest locations: The Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology Department at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH), the Mortuary at Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) or the Mortuary at Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital (SCGH) QEll.

If you request an examination of your child, he/she will be transferred to the appropriate PathWest department:

  • Perth Children’s Hospital – for babies up to about 6 months
  • Fiona Stanley hospital – for children and teenagers
  • Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital – for any child with an infectious disease.

Your child will be transported by funeral directors, who will take care of your child between sites. On arrival at the required location, a Paediatric Pathologist will perform an examination in accordance with the consent you have signed.

Your child will remain at the hospital the examination took place.

During a post-mortem examination, a training doctor, midwife, nurse, laboratory technician or specialist may be present as part of their training or to review findings.

Yes, it is possible for parents to see and hold their baby/child after a post-mortem examination if they would like to. More information about creating memories is available on the Information for Families page.

If any incisions are made these are repaired after the post-mortem procedure and are not visible when baby/child is dressed.

 

Generally, it is best to contact your doctor or other care provider who should be able to discuss all your questions about the post-mortem examination with you. In some circumstances the post-mortem coordinator may be able to assist you.

Private cremations and burials involve a registered funeral director and are required by law.

Funerals with a registered funeral director incur a cost. Families should contact the funeral director of their choice directly to make the appropriate arrangements.

It is best that Funerals are arranged as soon as possible. PathWest cannot facilitate appropriate care for your child long term.

PCH Pastoral Care Services or Social Work departments can assist parents when considering various funeral options and choices. When arrangements are made, the funeral director will contact us to arrange the transfer of your child into their care.

Please see here for a list of all Funeral Directors for Western Australia.

The Perth’s Children’s Hospital facilities include a viewing room that can be used by parents and their families to spend time with their child once they have left the ward. Bookings to arrange convenient viewing times are required, these are arranged by your hospital staff. 

Parents are required to produce photo ID when arriving at the viewing room unless accompanied by hospital staff.  Parents are welcome to spend as much time as they wish in the quiet room with their child, subject to other bookings.

Last Updated: 04/02/2025