Arranging a funeral for a baby or child

We’re so sorry that you’re reading this. When a baby or child dies, there’s no right way to feel and no need to rush. This guide sets out your choices, the paperwork, the financial help available in each part of the UK, and the organisations that can support you. Take it one step at a time, and lean on the people around you.

Key points

• There’s usually no need to rush. You can take time to be with your baby or child and decide what feels right.
• Hospital bereavement staff can help with memory-making, paperwork and funeral options.
• Stillbirths (after 24 weeks) must be registered: within 42 days in England and Wales, 21 days in Scotland, and up to one year in Northern Ireland.
• Burial and cremation fees are covered or waived for under-18s across the UK. None of the schemes is means-tested.
• Losses before 24 weeks don’t have to be registered, but a funeral is still possible. England and Scotland offer commemorative certificates.
• Parents can take parental bereavement leave, with pay if eligible.

In hospital

Most hospitals have a bereavement midwife or specialist bereavement nurse. They can:

• give you time with your baby or child, often in a private room, and sometimes with a cooling cot so you can stay longer;
• help you make memories, such as photographs, hand and footprints, a lock of hair, or bathing and dressing your baby;
• explain the paperwork you’ll need;
• talk you through a post-mortem, which for a stillbirth is your choice;
• explain funeral options, including any the hospital can arrange.

If a child’s death was sudden or unexpected, it will be reported to the coroner (in Scotland, the procurator fiscal), who may need a post-mortem. The coroner’s officer will explain what’s happening.

Registering your baby or child

You can name your baby in the stillbirth register. After registration, the registrar gives you the paperwork the funeral director needs. England’s baby loss certificate and Scotland’s Memorial Book certificate are free commemorative records. They aren’t legal documents, and there’s no time limit on the Scottish Memorial Book.

For more on registration, see how to register a death.

Choosing a funeral

You have several options, and all of them are valid:

• A funeral arranged by the hospital. Many hospitals offer a simple, respectful cremation or burial, especially for babies lost in pregnancy, at no cost to you. Ask whether it’s individual or shared and whether you can attend.
• A private funeral with a funeral director. You choose the venue, the service and the details. Many funeral directors reduce or waive their own fees for babies and children, so ask when you call.
• Arranging it yourself. Some parents prefer to do everything themselves. See arranging a funeral without a funeral director.

Burial or cremation?

Both are possible. If you choose cremation, ask beforehand about ashes: for very young babies there may be only a small amount, or sometimes none. Knowing in advance helps you decide. Some families choose burial for this reason, or a natural burial ground. See cremation vs burial.

Faith considerations

Many faiths have their own customs for babies and children. For example, many Hindu families bury children under around five rather than cremating them, and Sikh families may bury a stillborn baby. The Catholic Church has special funeral rites for children, including stillborn babies. Your faith leader or a faith-specialist funeral director can guide you.

Personal touches

• A small coffin, Moses basket or woven casket, sometimes chosen with siblings.
• Dressing your baby or child in clothes you’ve chosen, with a blanket or favourite toy.
• Parents or family carrying the coffin themselves.
• Siblings drawing pictures, writing letters or choosing a song.
• A short service at home, at the hospital chapel or at the graveside.
• Planting a tree or choosing a memorial in a natural burial ground.

Help with costs

For wider help, see help paying for a funeral and our help with funeral costs checker.

Time off work

• Parental bereavement leave: two weeks for each child who dies under 18 or is stillborn after 24 weeks, from the first day of employment. It can be taken as one block, two separate weeks, or one week, and must be taken within 56 weeks.
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay: currently £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, if you’re eligible.
• After a stillbirth, you may still be entitled to maternity or paternity leave and pay.
• Northern Ireland: for bereavements on or after 6 April 2026, parental bereavement leave also covers miscarriage before 24 weeks.

Where to find support

If you’re struggling to cope, please reach out. See our bereavement support guide and coping with grief.

Next steps

• Find a caring funeral director near you.
• Read about children and funerals if you have other children.
• Use our when someone dies checklist.