Šiluva buries babies who died in Kaunas hospitals after miscarriage or abortion

Babies who died before 22 weeks of pregnancy in Kaunas hospitals after miscarriages or abortions were buried in the town of Šiluva on Tuesday, LRT reported. Kaunas Archbishop Metropolitan Kęstutis Kėvalas called the burial a sign of respect for human life, showing that no one is forgotten.

After Mass, a procession accompanied by the bells of Šiluva Basilica went to the town cemetery. The burial took place shortly before October 15, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Babies who die before 22 weeks of pregnancy in Kaunas hospitals have been buried in Šiluva for the fourth year.

Parents can arrange a burial by submitting a request within four days of a miscarriage or abortion. Hospitals are also responsible for burying the babies. A spiritual assistant at Kaunas Clinics, a hospital, said more parents are choosing to leave them in hospital care.

“I more often counsel parents who regret not taking their baby to be buried, because they have to experience the loss a second time,” said spiritual assistant Svetlana Adler-Mikulėnienė. “The first time is in hospital, and then we hold a burial once a year. They may feel they should have moved on by then, but when they return, all the emotions come back.”

Inga Laukytė-Budrienė, head of the Padedu augti association, said parents had told her they felt too overwhelmed to take a baby who died at 12, 15 or 19 weeks. They also worried about how others would view them and what the funeral rites should involve, she said.

A monument by sculptor Nerijus Kavaliauskas is planned for the burial ground, and fundraising is under way. Laukytė-Budrienė said it would feature three life-size angels and a bench around the graves, where parents could sit, grieve and find strength to carry on.

Lithuania has five burial grounds of this kind, with two more planned.