Information for Families
Having a post-mortem after the loss of your baby
Please be aware that the following information may be distressing to some readers.
Download a printable version of information for parents and next-of-kin.
We offer our condolences if you, or someone close to you, has suffered the loss of a baby. We understand that the loss of your baby is a painful time, so we are committed to supporting and caring for you and your family as you navigate through this difficult experience.
The loss of your baby may raise important questions that can affect your grieving process. A post-mortem examination is a detailed examination of your baby and is performed by a specialist pathologist. This process can provide valuable information for you and your family and help with planning any future pregnancies. The decision of whether to have an examination of your baby is a personal one. 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 baby, 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 hold your baby following the completion of the examination. More detailed information about the post-mortem process and the options available can be found below.
PathWest provides a state-wide perinatal autopsy service at no charge to the parents.
Consenting to a post-mortem or autopsy
As with all medical procedures you will need to consent to a non-coronial post-mortem examination. An autopsy will not be performed without your consent unless the death has been referred for a coronial investigation. You should read a copy of the information for families brochure before you give your consent. This brochure outlines the post-mortem process. Please check with your health care provider if you have any questions before you sign the consent form.
It is important to know that whatever your decision, your baby is always treated with care and respect by all PathWest staff.
Creating memories
Creating memories can be an important part of your grief journey. Our Perinatal Pathology staff can provide mementos for miscarriage, stillborn or neonatal babies. To make use of this service please ensure you complete the appropriate consent form.
The mementos created at PathWest Perinatal Pathology are stored indefinitely and can be requested by you at any time in the future.
Arranging a viewing
We have a quiet room for you, your family and other people important to you, to spend time with your baby when you have left the hospital. The quiet room is available from Monday to Friday from 8am to 3pm on site at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH)/Women and Newborn Health Service (WNHS).
Access to the quiet room may be arranged by phoning Perinatal Pathology department on (08) 6458 2730.
Understanding a baby's post-mortem report
A post-mortem report will never be sent directly to parents as the content can be distressing and uses complex medical terminology. If you would like to receive a copy of the report, you can request this through your doctor. You can also request a plain language report which will be sent to your doctor. This provides a summary of the findings in easy-to-understand terms. You can request this at any time through your care team.
More information
Indigenous parent resources
Australian Government assistance
Frequently Asked Questions
This is an examination performed after death to provide as much information as possible to explain what happened to your baby. The examination can only be performed with your consent. The examination is performed by a medical specialist called a Paediatric and Perinatal Pathologist who is experienced and specifically trained in this area. A coronial post-mortem is an autopsy after a reportable death requested under the direction of the Western Australian Coroner- more information can be found here, the information provided on this webpage does not discuss the coronial post-mortem.
Your baby is kept in Perinatal Pathology at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH)/Women and Newborn Health Service (WNHS).
If you request a post-mortem examination of your baby, he/she will be transferred to the PathWest Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology department at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) where the facilities for examination are located. Your baby will always be accompanied by Perinatal Pathology staff, who are present for the entire process, including the travel to and from KEMH/WNHS. Your baby will be returned to the Perinatal Pathology department at KEMH/WNHS the same day.
There are three types of examination: full, limited and external. The consent form contains separate options for each type of examination. A complete examination (such as a full examination) allows a pathologist to provide a more comprehensive final report. This allows your doctor or counsellor to better explain what happened to your baby.
A full examination is the most detailed type of post-mortem. The internal organs are examined to gain as much information as possible. Incisions are made along the chest, abdomen (tummy) and back of the skull. All incisions are delicately repaired and will not be visible when the baby is dressed.
A limited examination is usually performed when the baby 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.
An external examination involves clinical photographs, measurements, a babygram and an examination of the placenta. No incisions are made, and no internal organs are studied.
All of the examinations include:
- Clinical photographs
- Standard set of measurements
- A babygram
- An external examination of the baby
- A detailed examination of the placenta
It is entirely up to you the type of post-mortem examination you give permission for the pathologist to perform. The examination will be tailored precisely to your wishes. These should be written on the signed consent form so that the pathologist knows exactly what is required, and what is not permitted.
For a full or limited post-mortem examination, small specimens (about the size of a pea) are routinely taken from every major organ for microscopic examination. 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 specifically granted, all tissues are returned to the body at the conclusion of the post-mortem. A pea-sized sample is taken from every major organ. From this, a paraffin block and microscope slide is produced for microscopic examination to detect disease with some samples being frozen or sent for testing within other departments (e.g. genetics, microbiology, virology). The paraffin blocks and microscopic slides are kept indefinitely as part of the patient record and can be referred to at a later stage (e.g if new genetic tests become available). The frozen samples are kept for up to 20 years and may be sent to Diagnostic Genomics for further testing. Genetic testing requires specific permission and will be discussed with you by your treating doctor.
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 post-mortem begins, to give PathWest permission to keep the organ a little longer and 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: This is entirely up to you to decide. Your post-mortem coordinator or doctor will be able to offer advice and support.
Following the post-mortem examination, the pathologist writes a report for the doctor who cared for you and your baby, detailing their findings. A provisional report will generally be available within 2 to 3 working days and a final report will be issued within 6 to 8 weeks, when all test results are known. The information gained from this report will allow your healthcare professional to counsel you regarding why your baby died and what the risks are for future pregnancies. We can also prepare a plain language report for you in non-technical language for discussion with your healthcare professional. This report can be requested when signing the post-mortem examination consent form.
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.
No, you don’t. It is important to reach decisions you are comfortable with and we understand that this may take some time. No examination of your baby will be performed without your consent.
PathWest Perinatal Pathology are permitted by law to cremate babies that are stillborn and less than 28 weeks gestation, provided we receive parental consent and the correct documentation. If a cremation is requested, parents may choose from two options which need to be indicated on the consent form:
Option A – Interment of Ashes Service
The KEMH Interment of Ashes Service is a memorial service where the ashes are interred in the KEMH Memorial Garden.
The Perinatal Pathology department conducts the cremations for the service towards the end of each month and combines the ashes of all babies together, to be placed in the garden. For King Edward Memorial Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital patients, pastoral care will provide service details and a booklet. For those parents whose babies are born at other hospitals, service details and booklet are sent to the parents by Perinatal Pathology on behalf of Pastoral Care Services informing them of the details. This service is free of charge.
The service is held on the last Thursday of each calendar month (except for December when it is held on the third Thursday) and is conducted by the hospital’s Pastoral Care Service. Parents of the babies, their family and friends are welcome to attend. Where consent has been given, the names of each of babies are read and each parent and their family are encouraged to inter a portion of the ashes in the site prepared within the garden.
The pastoral team contact details are:
Email: kemhpastoralcare@health.wa.gov.au
Phone: 08 6458 1726.
Where is the Memorial Garden?
The KEMH Memorial Garden was started in 1989. As this is a memorial garden, only ashes may be interred. The garden is for everyone so any personal tributes left in the garden will be removed on a regular basis. The memorial garden will be heritage listed and will remain at this site and will continue to be used for monthly services when the new Women’s Hospital is built.
Pictured: King Edward Memorial Hospital Memorial Garden
Option B: Individual Cremations
An individual cremation means that the baby is cremated singularly/separately, and the ashes retained to return to the parents.
A health care facility or department must be nominated to have the ashes sent to them for return to the parents. We ask that parents collecting ashes produce photo ID. If you nominate another person to collect the ashes, they must have written consent from the parents as well as photo ID.
Pictured: Ashes boxes
The Perinatal Pathology staff prepares mementos of your baby if you have given consent for mementos to be taken. The mementos include hand and foot prints and photographs. There is no cost involved with mementos from Perinatal Pathology. Collection of the mementos can be selected on either the PathWest Consent for Cremation form (NCC3) or the PathWest Consent for Mementos form (NCC4). All photographs and hand and foot prints are stored digitally and are kept indefinitely. Photographs and hand and foot prints may be requested for collection at any time by contacting Perinatal Pathology. Original name bands sent to perinatal pathology cannot be given as mementos. These need to remain with your baby at all times for identification purposes. If you wish to have a memorial name band, please speak to your midwife. You may wish to have mementos prepared by companies outside of Perinatal Pathology at your own cost (e.g. hand and foot moulds, jewellery imprints or professional photographs from Heart Felt). Please liaise with Perinatal Pathology. You will be given the choice to decline mementos if you feel for any reason that you do not want Perinatal Pathology to take photos or hand and footprints of your baby. You can let us know that you wish to decline by filling in this option on either the cremation consent form (if your baby is being cremated by Perinatal Pathology) or on the Mementos Consent form (if your baby is going for a private burial or cremation). If you decline mementos, please understand that mementos will not be taken and therefore will not be available to you at any time in the future. If you are unsure, please remember that if you consent to mementos, your baby’s mementos will be kept indefinitely and will be available should you wish to have them at a later time.
Pictured: Hand and footprint cards
The Perinatal Pathology department have photos dating back to 1980 with hand and footprints dating back to 1990. Please note mementos were not taken on all babies before 2005. If you would like to enquire about photos hand and footprints, please contact Perinatal Pathology.
Yes, if you would like to take your placenta home, please contact Perinatal Pathology.
Perinatal Pathology staff can release a patient’s placenta upon request. Patients must provide photo identification and sign a disclaimer prior to taking their placenta home. Please be aware that your placenta has been fixed in formalin as part of the laboratory process. Formalin is toxic and must not be ingested in any form. When collecting your placenta, you will be given a safety instruction sheet and will be asked to sign a disclaimer.
Although it is possible to take your placenta home, it is not suitable for consumption after examination (including encapsulation).
Please refer to the WA health website at Release of Human Tissue and Explanted Medical Devices Policy (health.wa.gov.au) for further guidelines regarding release of human tissue.
For some parents, it is important to spend some time with their baby and family and friends in the privacy of their home or another place of special significance. You can choose to do this if you wish. Plans need to be in place for return of the baby to hospital (as per prior arrangement) or to an appointed funeral director. If you do take your baby outside of your home or to a public place, it is recommended that you take into consideration the appropriateness of the venue and other people’s reactions to seeing a deceased baby.
You can also choose to leave your baby with the hospital if you feel this is the right decision for you and your family. Hospital staff will either facilitate the cremation at KEMH/WNHS or transportation to a Funeral Director according to the arrangements you have made.
To assist you in making decisions regarding transporting your baby from hospital, please read the guidelines below. These have been developed to explain the legal requirements you will need to meet, and any documents you may need if you wish to take your baby home.
For babies delivered before 20 weeks gestation
If your baby was stillborn before 20 weeks gestation of pregnancy and weighed less than 400 grams, there are no legal requirements. However, when taking your baby from the hospital you will require the Authorisation and release of Human tissue and Explanted Medical Device Consent form.
You may choose to have your baby cremated at a public cremation or buried in a cemetery. Alternatively, you may bury your baby in a place of your choosing, providing it is on private property and with the property owner’s permission. When burying on private property, it is recommended to prepare the site to a depth of at least 1 meter below ground and ensure the baby’s body is placed in an appropriately sealed container.
For babies delivered after 20 weeks gestation
If your baby was born alive (at any gestation), was born after 20 weeks gestation, or weighed 400 grams or more, your baby must be buried or cremated in a registered location such as a cemetery or crematorium. King Edward Memorial Hospital is registered to perform cremations for babies stillborn at less than 28 weeks gestation.
If you choose to transport your baby outside the hospital for a service, a funeral director should be chosen.
Documentation
The following documents need to be completed and given to your nominated funeral director:
- MR295.95 – Permission to Transport Deceased Baby
- Form 7 – Certificate of Medical Practitioner
- BDM201 – Medical Certificate of cause of Stillbirth or Neonatal Death
The above documentation will need to be kept together with your baby at all times.
Transporting your baby
It is usual for parents to have a funeral director arrange transportation of their baby, although parents may choose to transport their babies themselves. If this is the case, your baby may travel with you in an enclosed carry cot or other suitable carrier, with the appropriate documentation (as above). This is particularly important should you have a car accident on route to your destination, as police, paramedics or ambulance staff will need to know that your baby was deceased when the accident occurred. For smaller babies under 20 weeks' gestation, the hospital may provide you with a sealed and labelled container to carry your baby in.
If you wish to transport your baby via a domestic or international airline, you will need to engage the services of a funeral director. Airlines require that stillborn babies travel in a casket or coffin in the hold of the aeroplane, and not in the cabin. The funeral director will organise this on your behalf. Babies being transported internationally are required to be embalmed prior to the flight, and this can also be arranged by the funeral director.
Caring for your baby at home
The room which you keep baby in must be kept cool and well ventilated. We recommend that you place baby on a bed of ice bricks while you are sleeping or at intervals during the day. Natural changes to your baby’s body will occur; these may include variations in the appearance of baby’s skin, such as peeling or changing in colour and an odour may be noticeable. Keeping baby cool will help to slow down the rate at which any changes will progress.
The Hospital has a Cuddle Cot which may be available; this assists in keeping your baby’s body at a stable temperature.
Please refer to the WA health website at Release of Human Tissue and Explanted Medical Devices Policy (health.wa.gov.au) for further guidelines regarding release of human tissue.
Private cremations and burials involve a registered funeral director and are required by law for babies equal to or over twenty-eight weeks gestation and those babies who, at any gestation, had a heartbeat or breathed at birth. You and your family should contact the funeral director of your choice directly to make the appropriate arrangements for a private cremation or burial. This should be done as soon as possible as PathWest is not able to facilitate long term storage of your baby. Funerals with a registered funeral director incur a cost. 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 the baby into their care.
Please see here for a list of all Funeral Directors for Western Australia.
PathWest Perinatal Pathology staff cannot advise you on accessing bereavement payments. Please visit What help there is when a child dies - Death of a loved one - Services Australia for more information. If you require information about Death Certificates following registration of a death, contact the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages on 1300 305 021 or visit their website (The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (www.wa.gov.au). Please note: Perinatal autopsies are provided by PathWest at no charge. This includes transport to and from hospital of birth within Western Australia.