Miscarriage Memorial
History: In cooperation with Des Moines area hospitals, Hamilton's offers our facilities for cremation and memorial services for families who have had a baby die prior to 20 weeks gestation. This program was started by Mercy Hospital Medical Center in April, 1990, as a way to recognize and honor the lives of these tiny babies. Iowa Lutheran Hospital began offering this program in January, 1993. Since then, Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Broadlawns Medical Center have also joined us in this special program.
Memorial Service: Hamilton’s is pleased to offer our facilities for a special Memorial Service. Families who select to be invited to attend a Memorial Service, honoring the life of their child, receive an invite in the mail. Staff from participating hospitals, along with Hamilton’s staff, conduct the service, which takes place twice a year in January and August.
The Process: Cremation of these precious babies takes place, collectively, at Hamilton's Crematory. The cremated remains are then sheltered at Hamilton's near Highland Memory Garden Funeral Home until burial.
When it is time for the burial, during a special burial service the babies' cremated remains are laid to rest in a donated space in the children's section called Best Friends at Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery. The space is marked with a monument donated by Coldspring.
Burials
- September 20, 1998 - the first burial, vault was donated by Wilbert Burial Vaults.
- July 27, 2002 - second burial, vault was donated by Watts Vault Company.
- July 19, 2008 - third burial, vault was donated by Watts Vault Company.
- September 14, 2013 - fourth burial
- August 18, 2018 - fifth burial
- August 17, 2024 - sixth burial, vault was donated by Watts Vault Company.
The first burial site is marked with a beautifully inscribed memorial donated by Coldspring; "Upon the palms of my hands I have written your name, Isaiah, 49:16". All subsequent burial sites are next to one another, in the first row, to the west of this memorial.
In the spring of 2025, an additional marker, donations from Coldspring and Highland Memorial Gardens Cemetery, will be installed to identify the burial sites as the “Miscarriage Memorial Program”.
The Next Miscarriage Memorial Service
August 24, 2025
For more information, please contact the Academy (515) 697-3666 or
email HFHAcademy@HamiltonsFuneralHome.com
The Next Miscarriage Memorial Burial
Will occur between 2029 and 2031
Please contact the Academy for more information
or to receive an invitation to the next burial
Miscarriage Resources
Handouts
Handling Hurtful Comments when Your Baby has Died, also available in Spanish.
Practical Suggestions for Parents When Your Baby has Died, also available in Spanish.
Dear Dad-A Letter From One Dad to Another after a Miscarriage
Grief Support Organizations
The Compassionate Friends: http://www.compassionatefriends.org/
The Fletcher Foundation: http://www.thefletcherfoundation.net/
No Foot Too Small: http://www.nofoottoosmall.org/