Actions by health professionals and the atmosphere surrounding the birth of a stillborn baby may determine the nature of the mother’s contact with her baby. A questionnaire studied mothers’ feelings when holding their stillborn baby. A total of 33 mothers of stillborn babies born after 22 weeks completed the questionnaire three months after the birth. All mothers saw their baby. Before meeting the baby, 23 women had feelings of being afraid. Thirty-one mothers held their baby. When holding their baby all mothers felt tenderness and grief, 29 warmth and 25 prides. Fifteen mothers at the same time felt insecure when holding the baby, 12 had feelings of discomfort and 11 feelings of fear. A hypothesis for future investigations is that the more that a mother can be prepared for what is to come after birth, the better the chance that feelings of fear or discomfort can be diminished.