HI.
I wonder if anyone can tell me when it became law for a person to regester a Still Birth.
Also would the Hospital do this if they buried the child, and where to find the records.
Stay Safe. Dave W
The Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1926 made it a legal requirement that a stillbirth could only be buried or cremated AFTER a registration certificate was provided by the person requesting the burial.
Dave
Stillbirth registration was introduced on 1 July 1927 to help protect infant life, provide a valuable source of statistical information and to give parents the opportunity to have their child officially acknowledged. A stillborn child is a child born after the 24th week of pregnancy who did not breathe or show any other signs of life. When a child is stillborn the midwife or doctor will issue a medical certificate of stillbirth which will be used to register the stillbirth.
When stillbirth registration was introduced the age limit was the end of the 28th week of pregnancy, not the 24th (as it is now). This is a relatively recent change following the greatly increased survival rates of premature babies
.
Current GRO policy on obtaining stillbirth certificates: "Due to the sensitive nature of stillbirth registrations, the procedure for ordering a certificate of the entry differs from other types of certificates. We will only send out the application form after we have been contacted by phone or in writing by the mother or father (if he is named on the certificate). In cases where the parents are deceased, a brother or sister can apply if they can provide their parents' dates of death."
How to order the certificate
To obtain an application form for a stillbirth certificate, you can either telephone or write to the General Register Office.
HI.Merry Christmas to everyone.
Still waiting for the form. Can anyone tell me if the information on the cert. is the same as a normal birth cert. or something else.
Thanks Stay Safe.
Dave W