Guidelines for an individual funeral of a star child

Dear parents, in Lower Saxony you are obliged to bury your child if it died after birth or if it was stillborn and weighs more than 500 grams. If these points apply, you will need the support of a funeral home. They will take your child to the cemetery and arrange all formalities on your behalf, as well as the burial according to your wishes. This regulation applies to Lower Saxony, other states have partly different requirements.

Make a decision together and inform the clinic

If the birth weight is less than 500 grams, inform the midwife, doctor or hospital chaplain of the clinic before going home after the birth of your child. The child can still be examined to clarify the cause of the premature termination of the pregnancy.

Ask for a note in the file that you want to decide how and where the child will be buried. If you're still not sure, ask for a moment to think about it. You will receive a miscarriage certificate from the clinic. You will need this for the further steps.

Even if your child does not need to be buried, the parents have the right to bury it individually. However, you can also take advantage of the clinic's communal burial offer. The hospital chaplains and our institute will support you .

All children who are stillborn and weigh more than 500 grams are regularly registered in the registry office.

Say goodbye to the child

Take the opportunity to look at your deceased child in the clinic and possibly hold it in your arms. The little creature is your own child. In order to understand that you are not allowed to share a future together, it is important to consciously experience and shape the farewell. Hospital chaplains and midwives are happy to support you.

Ask the clinic staff to take photos and a footprint; sometimes the child already has hair, so you can pick up a small curl.

The right choice for a grave site

Give yourself plenty of time to decide where and how to bury your child. The situation you find yourself in is paradoxical: what you actually wanted to do was prepare the crib for the baby. Now you have to choose a cemetery instead .

For many parents, the grave is the place where they can be close to their child in the future, carrying flowers, candles and other small gifts to convey their love to the child. If you have the chance, look at the children's grave before making a decision.

An individual or communal grave in a communal children's grave

Junkernberg Cemetery has a special children's cemetery for individual graves intended only for star children. 

Of course, all other types of funerals are also possible for the funeral of a star child.