These public spaces honor the private grief of pregnancy loss
An estimated 23 million global miscarriages and 2.6 million stillbirths occur every year. These gardens, monuments, and other sacred spaces acknowledge the grief of pregnancy loss.
Berlin, GermanyAmong the bouquet-adorned headstones, majestic mausoleums, and tree-lined paths at some cemeteries in Germany lie rows of graves with distinct features. These final resting places are smaller, often decorated with stuffed animals, toy trucks and cars, dolls, and pinwheels spinning in the breeze. On some headstones, names are inscribed; others bear only a single, telling date.
These sacred monuments honor sternenkinder, or star children: stillborn babies and infants who died soon after birth.
Corinna Hansen-Krewer’s son Jonathan is among them. Stillborn at 38 weeks, Jonathan is buried in a small cemetery near the family’s home in Longuich, a town in southwest Germany. After his death in 2017, Hansen-Krewer went to her son’s grave at least once every day. Her visits now are less frequent,
