They're to Young: Importance of Embalming and Grief of the Family

They're To Young: Importance of Embalming and Grief of the Family

Talia Johnson

Professor Bresnaham

FS 232 1E

April 30, 2012

No matter the time or place death is not something that any one is willing to accept or overcome. The problem is though, that death is inevitable and no matter what the age may be, at the time of the death the pain ends for the decedent and begins for the family. The grieving process isn't easy for any one; everyone grieves differently. When a death occurs it puts in perspective that all life ends. Now deciding when exactly it will end isn't something we control. So exactly what age is appropriate to consider dying young? It is a sad truth that most people expect for the elderly to die, but a newborn, infant or child should not be expected.

When an infant or child dies it is considered a devastating tragedy. At the idea that they die between any of these stages are considered to have been wrong because they were just beginning their life. Whatever the age of the deceased is, a family should have a funeral or memorial service. Many family members do not seem to realize how important a funeral is, allowing them for the last time to say their goodbyes and get some closure. With many deaths beginning as early as when a child is born, you want to be able to come to terms with the death.

Just as families must cope, the young age of these deaths also has effects on the embalmers. Making sure that they achieve proper preservation, using techniques based on the conditions, is just as important. The goodbye will be the thing that the family needs to come to terms with the death and the embalmer will play his part and making sure they can have that.

"Approximately 37,000 children die within the first 28 days of life. Another way to look at this reality is to say that one neonatal death occurs every 15 minutes somewhere in this country." (http://www.iccfa.com/reading/2000-2009/embalming-z-infant-embalming-procedures-part-1). Keeping this in mind many embalmers have to be prepared for cases like this both psychologically and technically. Embalming infants and children can become very difficult and challenging at times because some embalmers may not have mentally prepared their self for such cases. For some it may touch to close to home making them think about the birth of a new baby or the death of their very own. However, before any child can be properly viewed at a funeral home they need to be properly embalmed and preserved. Many people may immediately think of an infant to be the first stages of a child, however there are also premature infants. "Babies born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy are called premature. In the United States, about 12.8 percent of babies (more than half a million a year) are born prematurely (1). The rate of premature birth has increased by 36 percent since the early 1980s." (http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/premature_indepth.html). Embalming an infant or child is already a task for an embalmer because of their size, so only more difficulty arises when they are born prematurely. With their little size and frame brings on different problems. When dealing with these cases the embalmer needs to be aware of the proper techniques for autopsied and unautopsied infant and children bodies. They also need to be equipped with the right tools in order to accommodate the tiny arteries and veins.

When embalming premature infants most cases will all appear to be autopsied. Now although based on the size, many people would assume these infants do not need to be embalmed but they do. If they were a unautopsied case then the first approach of the embalmer would be to use the common carotid as an injection site. However, if this point of injection is not an option than you would then use the abdominal aorta, ascending aorta, and the arch of aorta. Depending on the extremeness of the premature infant some of their organs might not have yet fully formed and developed - causing difficulty in the embalming. As any case, the premature infant needs to be aspirated and injected with cavity fluid in order to make sure that the viscera is preserved. In some cases if the premature infant is small enough the option of wrapping the body in saturated cotton with cavity fluid or autopsy gel can be a secondary approach.

There are different opinions on the ages of what it takes for a human being to be considered an infant, but research shows that infants will either had just been born till the age of three. When embalming an infant the embalmer needs to take into consideration that there bodies are normally going to contain extra amounts of moisture. At the beginning of the case like any the infant's body must be washed with disinfectant soap, whereas the head and limbs should be manipulated to relieve any rigor mortis that may have set. For eye closure, the eye caps may be altered in size to fit under the eyelids to make a more natural look to the closed eye, if the caps do not seem to be working then you can use cotton to create the same effect. Unlike the adult body, mouth closure for an infant presents a little more difficulty. The mandible and the maxillae are too soft to use the needle injector. For mouth closure to occur a muscular suture can be used. The needle can be passed through the mandible and then through the septum of the nose of the infant. Following this some embalmers will use super glue to achieve a natural mouth closer. Next you would then position the body a little different than that of an adult. The position of the arms and head can vary considerably. In some cases the arms are arranged along the sides of the trunk, and forearms and hands are placed on the body, barely touching just in case the family wishes for a toy or doll to be held. In other cases, the arms are positioned bent at the elbows, forearms flexed, and hands near the shoulders. The head can be placed on its side so that it is resting on the cheek area as if he/she is asleep. Due to the small size of the infant's head it may be impossible to use a head block so pads of cotton or towels can be used instead. Embalmer's also have to remember that when casketed, the infant's legs will be visible, so positioning of the legs need to be taken into as much consideration as the arms.

If the infant was unautopsied there are more injection sites that can be used than compared to that of an autopsied infant. The largest artery of choice would be to use the common carotid because it can easily be reached. For drainage the internal jugular