Background <p>The loss of a&#xa0;child during pregnancy and childbirth is a&#xa0;traumatic experience for parents, with potentially far-reaching consequences. Due to cultural shifts, older women who have experienced perinatal loss during their reproductive years are only now able to discuss these experiences, often from decades ago, and break free from the isolation that was previously common.</p> Aim <p>This article reconstructs and analyzes memories of perinatal loss among older women and, based on Stroebe and Schut’s dual process model of grief, derives implications for both research and midwifery practice.</p> Materials and methods <p>Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted using oral history methods with mothers aged&#xa0;65 and older who experienced the birth of a&#xa0;stillborn or nonviable child between 1953 and 1992. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.</p> Results <p>On the one hand, the results reconstruct typical coping spaces in grief processes following early child loss, which are shaped by structures of clinical care as well as by personal/familial factors. On the other hand, the results draw attention to the individual coping strategies of the women, which contributed to long-term biographical integration of the loss experience.</p> Discussion and conclusion <p>The results highlight the need for further differentiation in grief research concerning perinatal losses that occurred decades ago. They also demonstrate the importance of the dual process model in this context. For midwifery, this has practical implications for postpartum debriefings with older women who have experienced perinatal loss.</p>