What happens to miscarried babies?

[xekomaya]

In your faith tradition, where do miscarried babies go? Or what happens to them -- whatever phrasing is most suitable.

[CTH3989]

I have never really thought about it but I grew up Christian (not sure what I believe now) but I think our babies are waiting for us in somewhere. In heaven I suppose. I would love to meet my babies.

Another question: Once we meet our babies, will they always be babies? Will we have to care for them in the afterlife as we do now, will they be able to communicate? I wonder these things.

[Collinsky]

This is an interesting question.

I had a m/c last summer, and while it was very sad, I don't know that I truly believe that baby had a soul. I've never said that to anyone, and certainly believe that some lost babies did have souls... but I just don't know that my baby was ever going to be a person. I guess that doesn't mean s/he didn't have a soul... perhaps that baby was nothing BUT a spirit passing through, never meant to be a person, but here for a brief time for another purpose - either its' own, or for my benefit.

In my beliefs, all souls are part of one Spirit - a projection of the Divine into this world - and upon death, your soul returns to that Spirit. So a miscarried baby's soul would do just that, the same as any person of any longevity. It wouldn't remain in it's human form, fetal or ancient or otherwise - it returns to pure spirit. It's kind of like an ocean (for lack of a better analogy), and each soul is a current within that ocean, and some souls "stream" together, coming back to each other in multiple lives. So your miscarried baby's soul might be the soul of your brother or wife or child or friend in your next life. It's interesting to think about.

[CrunchyChristianMama]

I come from a Christian background and strongly believe that all babies who die (whether before or after birth) go to heaven.

I researched it years and years ago and wish I still had the resources that I used to come to my conclusion, but unfortunately I don't. The Psalms speak of God caring for us even in our mother's womb though.

[CTH3989]

I can't wait to hear more.

[Lollybrat]

The Catholic Church's teaching is that we trust the love and mercy of God to care for the souls of babies who are miscarried (or die before baptism). Although some older Catholics believe in "Limbo" where the souls of these infants spent eternity in a state of natural happiness, this was never an official teaching of the Church. Most Catholics nowadays believe that these infant souls are in heaven. Jesus himself said, "Let the little child come to me and hinder them not." Many Catholic families choose to give their miscarried babies a Catholic burial, and the Church has specific funeral/burial rites for this situation.

[cappuccinosmom]

I believe my two miscarried babies are part of heaven's population now.

What I believe about heaven informs the rest of what I believe about my babies.

In my belief, in heaven we will have perfectly formed, whole, disease-free new bodies. We will not age (aging for eternity would be a pretty scary prospect!), but simply remain whole and in that perfect state forever. Age does not matter in heaven, and while we will know each other, our human relationships will be different. Not husband-wife-child relationships but cohabitants in the presence of God. Believing that, I'm not envisioning meeting a 13 week old fetus, but a perfectly whole and fully formed being. I don't know if we'll all be the same age, or if we'll be different ages.

[midnightmommy]

I'm a pagan not that it matters since that is a blanket term, and different paths believe different things. Mine is similar to Collinsky. I believe that the energy of the little one goes back to the mother goddess who is all pure energy. To come back again.

[Grace and Granola]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom

What I believe about heaven informs the rest of what I believe about my babies.

In my belief, in heaven we will have perfectly formed, whole, disease-free new bodies. We will not age (aging for eternity would be a pretty scary prospect!), but simply remain whole and in that perfect state forever. Age does not matter in heaven, and while we will know each other, our human relationships will be different. Not husband-wife-child relationships but cohabitants in the presence of God. Believing that, I'm not envisioning meeting a 13 week old fetus, but a perfectly whole and fully formed being. I don't know if we'll all be the same age, or if we'll be different ages.

[merpk]

Jews believe in reincarnation. Our souls keep coming back until they fulfill every mitzvah, or until they reach a high enough 'level' that they're done with their job on this plane of existence and they don't have to come back anymore.

So with each of my miscarriages I was reminded that the soul that came down to me only needed a short time to complete its tafkid, its purpose, and it must have been such an incredible human in its previous incarnation, so holy & pure a life, and such a gift to have been the ima (mother) to such a holy soul for the brief time he/she needed to be here ...

It helped.

[suzywan]

Originally Posted by merpk

Jews believe in reincarnation. Our souls keep coming back until they fulfill every mitzvah, or until they reach a high enough 'level' that they're done with their job on this plane of existence and they don't have to come back anymore.

So with each of my miscarriages I was reminded that the soul that came down to me only needed a short time to complete its tafkid, its purpose, and it must have been such an incredible human in its previous incarnation, so holy & pure a life, and such a gift to have been the ima (mother) to such a holy soul for the brief time he/she needed to be here ...

It helped.

I believe that the Buddhists (not sure which discilpine, or if it's all types) have a similar view - that the soul needed only to touch earth long enough to be loved in order to attain Nirvana. I think it's beautiful.

[zech13_9_goforgold]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom

I believe my two miscarried babies are part of heaven's population now.

What I believe about heaven informs the rest of what I believe about my babies.

In my belief, in heaven we will have perfectly formed, whole, disease-free new bodies. We will not age (aging for eternity would be a pretty scary prospect!), but simply remain whole and in that perfect state forever. Age does not matter in heaven, and while we will know each other, our human relationships will be different. Not husband-wife-child relationships but cohabitants in the presence of God. Believing that, I'm not envisioning meeting a 13 week old fetus, but a perfectly whole and fully formed being. I don't know if we'll all be the same age, or if we'll be different ages.

I agree with that. When David lost his child, he said that the baby would not be able to go back to him (David), but that someday, David would go to his child someday. Please note (if you read the whole story) that God does not always take children away from parents because of sin- this is just one Bible story.

My beliefs on fetuses going to heaven is based on God's mercy and goodness, not on my own. The Bible puts a lot of weight on the unborn. Psalm 139 (and elsewhere) speaks of the relationship that God has with the unborn before birth ("my frame was not hidden from you...your eyes saw my unformed body...all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be"). Based on these couple things, I believe that my babies are in heaven. But, only God knows for sure.

If you are asking this question because you are dealing with a miscarriage of your own, then I am very sorry. There is a pain wrapped up in such a loss that only a mother can feel.

[pants]

Originally Posted by zech13_9_goforgold

I agree with that. When David lost his child, he said that the baby would not be able to go back to him (David), but that someday, David would go to his child someday. Please note (if you read the whole story) that God does not always take children away from parents because of sin- this is just one Bible story.

My beliefs on fetuses going to heaven is based on God's mercy and goodness, not on my own. The Bible puts a lot of weight on the unborn. Psalm 139 (and elsewhere) speaks of the relationship that God has with the unborn before birth ("my frame was not hidden from you...your eyes saw my unformed body...all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be"). Based on these couple things, I believe that my babies are in heaven. But, only God knows for sure.

If you are asking this question because you are dealing with a miscarriage of your own, then I am very sorry. There is a pain wrapped up in such a loss that only a mother can feel.

this

[umsami]

In Islam, a baby gets a soul at either 40 days or 120 days after conception (different views)... so I'm assuming any miscarried babies after that time, would go to heaven (Jannah in Arabic). I'm not sure what happens with miscarriages before 40 days...

I think the majority believe 120 days... and there's actually a whole bunch that happens at that time according to hadith (tradition/sayings).... an angel comes and writes his deeds, livelihood (career), time of death, and whether he will be blessed in terms of religion.


Prophet Muhammad's wives experienced miscarriage, and he is reported to have said two things regarding miscarriage (he is Allah's Messenger below):

Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger s.a.w. said "The miscarried fetus that I send before me is dearer to me than a rider whom I leave behind." [Ibn Majah]

"Mu’adh b. Jabal reported on the authority of Allah’s Messenger s.a.w. who said "By him in whose Hand is my life, the miscarried fetus will drag his mother towards the paradise, with his navel string if she had shown the patience for the sake of reward from Allah."

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

From conception the soul is present and since babies are pure and free of sin they all go to heaven Mine are in heaven waiting on me to get there. I am looking forward to meeting them when the time comes.

I am Christian, Separate Baptist.

[Smokering]

I believe the Biblical evidence is weighted towards universal infant damnation. I wouldn't absolutely stake my life on it, because it's never spelled out absolutely, but it seems the most logical answer to me. I do think the fact that unborn babies have not (presumably!) sinned means that hell for a baby would be a very different affair to hell for an adult, however.

I hesitated to post this because people who believe in UID tend to be characterised as horrible, terrible people who believe it because they hate babies. But, well, you asked.

[doubledutch]

can you give some examples of that evidence?

[doubledutch]

i believe the same thing happens as would happen to a person who had been born and lived for any length of time (moments or many years), which i guess is closest to what merpk said. i think either that spirit would be born at another time in another body, or its work is done, or the work it needs to do at that time is in the spirit world but maybe it will have work on the earth in the future (back to being born into another body at another time). i don't really believe in the traditional christian concepts of heaven and hell.

[Smokering]

can you give some examples of that evidence?

If you like. It follows on logically from "salvation is by grace through faith". The unborn, and small children to a certain age, don't have the mental capacity to have faith as far as I can see (faith requires a definite object, which requires at least a rudimentary understanding of the attributes of that object). The Bible never mentions an alternative means of salvation - salvation by youth, as it were - and positing one would seem to negate the necessity of Christ's sacrifice. I don't think God would have sent His Son to die if there were another way to get people into heaven.

It also follows from the doctrine of original sin, which states that babies aren't innocent (and yes, I realise not all Christians believe that).

As for David's comment about his son, I believe he was referring not to heaven (a fuzzy if not practically non-existant concept in the OT) but to the generic "Sheol" or "grave", ie. death. As in, he would meet his son in death, but his son would not come back to life.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Because they dont have that mental capacity they dont need faith because of that they are pure. The same goes for an adult with a mental issue who cannot know right from wrong. Because of this they are automatically a child of God and will go home to be with him.