Reverse transport of the deceased neonate--an aid to mourning.

Parents whose infant has died mourn in a fashion similar to others who experience a significant loss. Seeing and touching the dead infant often facilitate the parents' mourning process. If an infant is transported to another facility for care, and dies while the mother remains hospitalized, the mother may never see her infant again. We have found, in selected cases, that returning the dead infant to its mother at the referring hospital can greatly facilitate parental grieving. Parents who have participated in this aspect of grieving later describe it as a very positive factor in their mourning process.