Listening to grieving parents talk about the funeral of their child is a conversation many people find difficult so shy away from it. By allowing grieving families to voice their many varied experiences and by listening to their stories, we gain precious insight into what constitutes a meaningful funeral service for them, their extended family and their wider community. Looking at the faces of family members and listening to the tone of their voices clearly highlights the huge array of their differing experiences. So, what does define a meaningful funeral? 

Learning from these conversations creates an opportunity to acknowledge and focus on the key areas families that have found most helpful before and immediately following the death of a child. These include being offered options they may not have been aware of previously. Such options include conversations around death once palliated, spending time with their child after they have died or after a coronial inquest, home based after death care, the many funeral choices that are available and ways to connect with their wider community for ongoing support.

Leading the way in creating a smooth transition from palliative care, to care of the body after death, through to funeral and memorial services and onto bereavement support services, is what this presentation explores and discusses. It is important that this process can be streamlined as smoothly as possible to help these families at a time when they are experiencing overwhelming pain and suffering. The reoccurring theme of this presentation is how conversations had with grieving families is that they crave choices that give them a sense of control whilst they navigate through one of the most difficult times in their lives.