Although it is sometimes not possible to ensure that there are ashes after the cremation of a very small baby, some crematoria go to great lengths to try to ensure that there are ashes, however few.

In hospital funerals at some crematoria, several babies may be cremated together. This means that even if there are any ashes they cannot be returned to the parents. However parents should be told where the ashes will be buried or scattered.

Ashes that remain after a single baby is cremated should always be offered to the parents. The parents can then decide if they want the crematorium to bury or scatter the ashes, or if they would prefer to bury or scatter them themselves, perhaps in a place that is special to them.

If you are considering a cremation, you may want to find out if the local crematorium staff do their best to produce ashes. If the hospital is arranging the funeral, you can ask the midwife or nurse about this. If you are arranging the funeral yourself, you can ask the funeral director or contact the crematorium yourself. If the crematorium states that there will not be any ashes and you would like to have some, you might want to consider finding another crematorium. Alternatively you could choose burial instead.

Many crematoria have a special area for memorials for babies who have died. Most have rules about what can be placed there. You may want to find out about these in advance so you can think about what you want. Crematoria also have a book of remembrance and you can arrange for your baby’s name to be entered.