Post #1516971
2025-12-20 18:00 UTC
@poleguy I do agree with you that our culture should be more open about stillbirth, but I honestly haven’t seen a big shift in burial customs around it. The vast majority of modern miscarriages happen early, and those early miscarriages never would have received headstones. I have friends who’ve had second- or third-trimester stillbirths, and those babies all have graves and headstones; the main difference is that now they also all have names, instead of just being marked “son” or “daughter.”
Replies (1)
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@poleguy@mastodon.social 2025-12-21 01:48
@greene I suppose you're right. Likely not a big shift in burial customs. More like a series of many small changes surrounding/intersecting/impacting burial. As you point out, naming of still-born children is a shift that's obvious on those grave stones. Cremation is now more popular and accepted for adults. I wonder if this changes the number of burials of children too? I also know there are special children's sections. And many causes of still-birth are understood, treated, and prevented.