What happens to the souls of miscarried babies?

This is an edited version of a response I posted on a message board. I thought it might be interesting for those who do not practice Buddhism to read. It is a topic close to my heart, as I have lost nine little babies myself. (Actually, if I am honest, I only lost eight, plus a molar pregnancy where no baby grew. But I loved that imagined child as thought it were real, and I count it.)

Life is eternal. It goes on and on and on, in a cyclical manner. We live our lives, we die, we are reborn. Usually, we don't know that we are being reborn, especially if we don't practice the Dharma, so we have what some people call "visits to heaven," often described as tranquil and peaceful by those who have had near death experiences.

According to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, we are given three chances to move on, called Bardos. You can read more about the Bardos here: http://www.near-death.com/experiences/buddhism04.html

We choose our parents and come to them at the moment of conception.

I believe that miscarried babies are souls who have reached Nibbana (Nirvana) and simply needed a human life form to get there. We know that in our past lives we have already built incredibly good Karma, because only those with very good Karma can be reborn into human form. I believe that these little souls are actually very old souls who needed one last stepping stone to get where they were going, to get out of the wheel of samsara. They have reached the end of their journeys, after thousands, perhaps millions of years in existence. I am honored to have housed many of these souls.

It is a great gift to help another on their path to Nirvana. I don't know what I did in my past lives to grow such good Karma, that I was given so many souls to guide ... maybe I will learn, when I am deeper into my practice.

Om lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu

May all beings in the universe
be peaceful, happy and free