Whether to hold a cremation or burial for your baby has, to date, been a family’s choice. The Coronavirus Act active from March 2020 suggests new guidance around what may happen when cremations take place. This will mean that you may have different conversations around cremation or burial with your hospital or funeral director:
- Ashes being held at crematoria until such time as collection is deemed safe when people are once again allowed to leave home freely
- Crematoria may offer extended opening hours to manage demand if more cremations need to take place
The government is committed to ‘managing the deceased with respect and dignity’, but in the event of increased pressure may have to direct others not involved in the funeral sector to manage services and preserve public health. This may mean your baby’s journey to a final resting place will be different to what you know of the procedures if you have arranged funerals before. Having said this, your wishes will be heard so that these new procedures bring you as much comfort as possible.
Discussions in Parliament have aimed to protect the interests of faith groups who would not normally opt for cremation. The aim to protect the wishes of the deceased is a key concern for legislators managing the coronavirus crisis and will be an important conversation to have when making arrangements that enable you to say goodbye.
At Sands, we are here to support you and would like to remind you of the options to discuss your concerns with our trained staff via our Helpline, email.