After a miscarriage

After a miscarriage, you may be left with questions about what happens next.

There is no single way to experience pregnancy loss, and no right timeline for recovery. You might be thinking about your health, your feelings, your relationships, work, or whether another pregnancy feels possible in the future.

This page brings together information and support to help you navigate the days, weeks and months after loss, at your own pace.

Physical recovery

After a miscarriage, your body may need time to recover physically and hormonally. Recovery can look different for everyone, depending on the type of loss, your treatment, and your overall health.

You may experience bleeding, cramping, tiredness, and changes in your hormones in the days or weeks afterwards. Some people recover quite quickly physically, while others find symptoms last longer.

Your next period will usually return within four to six weeks, although this can vary. Pregnancy tests may also remain positive for some time after the loss because pregnancy hormones can take a while to leave the body.

If you are worried about symptoms, pain, bleeding, or your recovery, contact your GP, Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU), NHS 111, or emergency services if needed.

What happens to pregnancy remains after miscarriage?

You may have questions about what happens to the pregnancy remains after miscarriage, particularly if you miscarry at home or were not given clear information at the time.

You may or may not feel ready to read about this now. The information below is here if or when you need it.

After a miscarriage, there is no legal requirement for burial or cremation before 24 weeks of pregnancy. However, hospitals should have sensitive arrangements in place for the care and disposal of pregnancy remains, and you should be given information about the options available to you.

There may be several options, depending on your circumstances, your wishes and the arrangements at your hospital. These may include:

individual cremation or burial
shared cremation or burial
sensitive disposal
taking the pregnancy remains home
making your own arrangements for burial or cremation

There is no right or wrong choice. Some people want to be involved in decisions about what happens to the pregnancy remains, while others prefer the hospital to make the arrangements for them. You should be given some time to think about this, but there will likely be a time limit.

What happens if I miscarry at home?

Some people miscarry at home, either naturally or while waiting for treatment. Depending on how many weeks pregnant you were, you may see blood clots, a pregnancy sac, pregnancy tissue, or the fetus. This can feel unexpected or distressing, particularly if you were not prepared for what you might see.

People respond to this experience in many different ways. You may want to look more closely at what has come away, or you may not. You might want to keep the pregnancy remains, take them to hospital, or allow them to pass naturally into the toilet. Many people flush automatically. There is no right or wrong response.

In some situations, you may be asked to take pregnancy remains to hospital for examination or testing, particularly if you are having investigations following recurrent pregnancy loss. If this is needed, your healthcare team should explain what to do and why.

If you are unsure what to do, you can contact your Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU), midwife, GP or the healthcare team involved in your care for advice and support.

If you have kept the pregnancy remains, you may be able to ask the hospital to arrange cremation or burial. Alternatively, you may choose to make your own arrangements, such as arranging a private burial or cremation. See our information below on possible options.

Hospital cremation, burial or sensitive disposal

Arrangements vary between hospitals, so the options available to you may not be the same as those available to someone else.

You may be able to choose from:

Individual cremation or burial – this is often only available for second trimester miscarriages in most parts of the UK, but in Scotland, hospitals offer this for any gestation. Ashes can be returned to you after individual cremation, and you may be able to attend a service.
Shared cremation – where pregnancy losses are cremated together. Unfortunately, ashes cannot be returned and will usually be scattered in a baby or memorial garden at the crematorium. You cannot usually attend the cremation, but many hospitals organise regular memorial events to recognise babies lost in pregnancy.
Sensitive disposal – where the remains are sent for sensitive incineration. Ashes are not returned and there is no memorial opportunity via the hospital. You may choose this option and decide to mark your loss in your own way, or you may prefer not to mark it at all.

Making your own arrangements

You may be able to make your own arrangements for the pregnancy remains rather than using the arrangements offered by the hospital.

Depending on your circumstances, this could include arranging a private burial or cremation, either yourself or with the help of a funeral director. You may also wish to involve a faith leader or someone else who is important to you.

If you are considering making your own arrangements, ask your hospital what options are available and what you need to do to have the pregnancy remains released to you or to your chosen funeral director.

Unfortunately, free children’s funerals are not generally available for pregnancy losses before 24 weeks, but some funeral directors may offer a discretionary service to earlier losses. Otherwise, you may need to pay for making private arrangements, with the costs varying depending on what options you choose.

Taking or keeping the pregnancy remains at home

You can, if you wish, take or keep pregnancy remains at home to bury yourself. If you choose to do this, there are certain things you may want to consider:

What would happen if you moved house or if the land is used for new purposes in the future. For this reason, you may want to use a plant pot that could be moved. (We offer miscarriage memorial rose plants, in partnership with English Roses.)
We recommend burying at a depth of approximately 18 inches (45 cm) to avoid the pregnancy remains being disturbed.
We recommend using no wrapping, or if wrapping is used for this to be biodegradable or wooden.
The burial must not interfere with any rights other people have on the land and permission must be obtained from the landowner if you do not own the land.

Taking the pregnancy remains somewhere else

If you miscarried away from home, it is possible to transport pregnancy remains somewhere else, such as another part of the UK or to another country, but there are some rules you will need to follow.

Staff at the hospital should provide them to you in a suitable container for transportation. You will also need paperwork from them, if, for example, you intend to board a flight or take a ferry. You may carry them in your hand luggage.

You can also instruct a local funeral director to collect and transport the remains on your behalf. This is likely to incur a charge, unless your funeral director offers this for free.

Talk to the hospital about this as soon as you can, to ensure all the practical and legal requirements are met and to avoid any possible further distress in transporting the remains.

Do I have to decide straight away?

You may not feel able to make decisions about what happens to the pregnancy remains immediately after a miscarriage.

Where possible, you can ask your healthcare team to explain your options and give you time to consider what feels right for you. You can also ask how long the hospital can keep the pregnancy remains and whether you can take them home while you decide.

If you are unsure, it is okay to say that you need more information or more time before making a decision.

What happens at the hospital?

Your healthcare team should give you clear information, and the time needed to make a decision. Here are some questions you may want to ask:

What are my options?
Can I take the pregnancy remains home?
Can I make my own arrangements?
Can I have an individual cremation or burial?
Will ashes be returned to me?
How long can you keep the pregnancy remains while I decide?
Can I take them to another hospital, funeral director or another part of the UK?
Are there any costs?

There is no right or wrong choice

There is no single way to respond to the loss of a pregnancy, and there is no right or wrong decision about what happens to the pregnancy remains.

You may want to mark the loss through a burial, cremation or other ceremony. You may want to take the pregnancy remains home. You may want the hospital to make the arrangements for you. Or you may not want to be involved in the arrangements at all.

Whatever you choose, you should be treated with sensitivity, dignity and respect.

If you need support or further information, you can reach out to our support team.

Certificates and recognising your loss

Although there is no official registration process in the UK for babies lost before 24 weeks of pregnancy, some people find comfort in having their loss formally acknowledged.

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, people who have experienced a loss before 24 weeks may be able to apply for a certificate of loss. Availability and processes can vary across the UK, and we hope similar schemes will become available more widely in the future.

Some hospitals may also offer certificates in memory of your baby or pregnancy loss. If this is something that feels important to you, you can ask:

the ward or EPU staff
a bereavement midwife or nurse
the hospital bereavement service
the hospital chaplaincy team

You can apply for a suitable baby loss memorial certificate below. We also offer a range of memorial certificates in our online shop.

Certificates in England

Certtificates in Scotland

Certificates in Northern Ireland

Our memorial certificates

Emotional recovery

Pregnancy loss can affect people in many different ways emotionally. Some people feel deep sadness or grief. Others describe shock, numbness, anger, or a mixture of emotions that shift over time.

There is no “normal” response to miscarriage, and there is no right timeline for how you should feel afterwards.

For some people, the emotional impact is immediate. For others, it may surface later, once appointments have ended and life around them begins to move on.

Further support and information:

Mental health after miscarriage

Relationships, work and everyday life

Miscarriage can affect relationships, routines, and daily life in ways that are not always visible to others.

Partners, family members and loved ones may cope differently or express emotions in different ways. Some people want to talk openly about the loss, while others find it harder to put feelings into words.

You may also feel pressure to “move on” before you feel ready, especially when returning to work or social situations.

Things that once felt straightforward, like seeing friends, making plans, intimacy, or being around pregnancy and babies, can sometimes feel emotionally complicated after loss.

Further support and information:

Talking to others about miscarriage

Support in the workplace

Thinking about trying again

After pregnancy loss, thoughts about another pregnancy are often complicated. You may feel hopeful one moment and frightened the next. You might feel ready to try again quickly, unsure what you want, or unable to imagine another pregnancy right now.

There is no right decision or timeline.

Wanting another pregnancy does not make your loss any less real. Equally, feeling uncertain or deciding not to try again are valid experiences too.

Some people reach a point where they question whether they can continue trying, whether because of medical advice, emotional exhaustion, financial pressures, or the impact repeated losses have had on their lives and relationships. These thoughts can bring difficult feelings of grief, uncertainty, or conflict.

If you’re not sure what you want

You don’t need to make decisions immediately after loss.

Many people find it helpful to take things step by step, talk openly with someone they trust, or give themselves permission for feelings to change over time.

Counselling or peer support can also help create space to explore difficult emotions without pressure or judgement.

You may also find our information on thinking about another pregnancy and thinking about stopping trying helpful.

Pregnancy after loss

Pregnancy after miscarriage can bring a mixture of emotions. Alongside hope and excitement, many people experience anxiety, fear, or difficulty feeling reassured, even when things are going well medically.

Scans, milestones, symptoms, and anniversaries can all feel emotionally significant after loss.

You do not have to navigate those feelings alone.

Pregnancy after loss information

Pregnancy after loss support groups

Pregnancy after loss Facebook group 0-13 weeks

Pregnancy after loss Facebook group 14+ weeks

Support after miscarriage

Support after miscarriage can take many forms. You may want practical information, emotional support, or the chance to talk with people who understand what pregnancy loss can feel like.

Our support services include support groups, helpline support, online community spaces, and trusted information to help you navigate the weeks and months after loss. Some people also find professional counselling helpful in processing difficult feelings and experiences.

Find support

Professional counselling support