Which bodily traces are available?

This varies with the week of pregnancy and the course of the birth. A footprint is the most common trace - it is possible from roughly the sixteenth week of pregnancy onwards and yields a clear individual ridge pattern. A handprint is taken less often, because the hands are frequently not yet fully formed. Hair is usually available from the twenty-eighth week onwards. Ashes arise from cremation, but in very limited quantity.

Where are the traces recorded?

In most German hospitals this has been standard practice since around 2010 - midwives and specially trained staff offer to secure a footprint and a lock of hair. The offer is never pressed; parents decide freely. Specialist bereavement support within hospitals (bereavement midwives) is available in many larger institutions.

How large is a piece of jewellery for a child lost this early?

The bodily traces are small, but the piece itself is usually of normal size. A footprint pendant shows the shape of the foot at its original size - often only 2 to 3 cm - on a normally proportioned pendant plate. The difference in scale is part of the gesture: the piece recalls how small the child was.

Is this a distinct field in terms of materials and technique?

Technically no - the same workshops, the same processes as for adult memorial jewellery. What calls for sensitivity is above all the communication around a commission: workshops work with restraint, without advertising clichés, and often deliver more quickly because the parents are under intense emotional strain. Usual delivery time: two to four weeks.

Memorial Jewellery for Stillbirth and Infant Loss

Jewellery for stillbirth and infant loss is memorial jewellery for children who died before, during or shortly after birth. It works with the often very limited bodily traces (footprint, lock of hair, handprint) and forms a distinct and especially sensitive field.

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