In the process of developing Heart of My Heart we quickly found that the volume of miscarriage delivery aids (sometimes called miscarriage collection kits) necessary to adequately serve the families in our diocese was incompatible with the cost of kits available from other ministries online.
Bulk orders of very basic supplies can yield a good quality, practical and highly affordable kit for approximately $5-6 (US) each. Other ministries charge as much as $25 with similar supplies included. There are many reasons why the kits can cost this much, but when the goal for your ministry is to help as many families as possible, it’s important to keep costs low.
What should go into each miscarriage delivery aid kit
1 strainer such as this Medline Calculi strainer. A Strainer like this calculi strainer is the most critical part of these miscarriage delivery aids. It allows women to catch and recover their child’s remains. If you offer nothing else, this strainer and instructions for recovering and preserving a miscarried child’s remains would be a great help to families. If you are a woman simply trying to gather materials for yourself in an emergency, a reusable coffee filter will also work well for this purpose.
1, 8-ounce squirt bottle like the Uline Boston Round Squeezeable Bottle 8 oz. A squirt bottle like this one is used to gently clean off the recovered remains and pregnancy tissue like the placenta, to help women find the gestational sack where their child’s remains are.
1 vessel such as an unmarked, wide-mouth glass jar. Heaven’s Gain has a helpful article titled “Why the Vessel?” to explain the use of this part of the kit. You can read it HERE. The vessels we use come from Uline.com.
1 fabric pouch to contain all kit items. This pouch from ULine is our preference because it easily fits all the supplies. It can also be used for families to place the vessel containing the child’s remains into for the sake of reverence.
1 pair of medical grade latex-free gloves such as these medical-grade vinyl gloves from Amazon.com
1 single-use krazy/super-glue tube – there are many options available on Amazon.com and elsewhere. Do not attach lids to tubes ahead of time or the glue tube will burst open and make an unpleasant mess. This glue is used to seal the vessels and caskets closed so that nothing leaks, and to create an air-tight seal.
Detailed instructions for how to use the kit (Use Caring for Your Child’s Remains resource sheet).
A fetal development chart to help women identify what their baby is likely to look like for the purposes of recovering their remains. We used one that on the Heavensgain.org website and made sure we gave credit to them at the bottom of the chart.
Where to purchase these supplies
ULINE.com
Amazon.com
Walmart, Target or other grocery store