The first thing to do is to contact the General Office of the hospital where your baby was stillborn or died.
The hospital staff will need to know:
- the full name and address of the mother at the time of
- the baby’s birth
- the date of the baby’s birth
- any other information that you may have, such as the stage the pregnancy had reached
The staff should then be able to tell you if the baby was buried or cremated and/or the name of the funeral director who made the arrangements at that time. If the funeral director is still in business and still has records from that time, he or she should be able to tell you which cemetery or crematorium was used. You can then contact the cemetery or crematorium and ask the staff to carry out a search of their registers.
If neither the hospital nor the funeral director has a record of which cemetery or crematorium was used, you will need to contact local cemeteries and crematoria yourself. Start with those nearest to the hospital where your baby was stillborn or died. If you cannot find any record of your baby at the nearest cemetery or crematorium, the staff may be able to suggest which other cemetery or crematorium you could ask. You may find the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management website useful in finding cemeteries and crematoria in your area.
Remember to keep a record of your search, including a list of the places you have contacted and the names of the people you spoke to. Members of the public are legally permitted to inspect burial registers, but you don’t have an automatic right to inspect cremation registers. This is due to data protection legislation. However, the staff can search on your behalf if you provide the following information:
- the baby’s surname
- the date of the death or stillbirth