Genealogy Chat

Thanks for explaining Shirley.

A baby that was born alive would be registered as usual . a stillbirth would be just that not born with any sign of ife and not taking a breath
found this by googling

A stillbirth occurs when a fetus which has died, in the uterus or during labor or delivery, exits a woman's body. The term is often used in distinction to live birth or miscarriage. Most stillbirths occur in full term pregnancies.

Some sources reserve the term "stillbirth" for a fetus which has died after reaching mid-second trimester to full term gestational age. For example, in the United Kingdom, "stillbirth" is used to describe an infant birthed without life after 24 weeks gestation. The sources that use this definition tend to use the term "miscarriage" if the death occurs earlier in development. In contrast, other sources use the term "stillbirth" regardless of the stage of fetal development.

Thanks for your reply InspectorGreenPen,

Forgive my ignorance - and please dont think me insensitive, but I have to ask, because I dont know. Am I correct then in thinking, that;

If a baby is under 24 weeks - the loss would be termed a miscarriage and is not recorded

If the baby is over 24 weeks - but not alive, the loss would be termed a stillbirth and the stillbirth is recorded on the stillbirth register, as you have said

If the baby is born alive -but dies - this loss would be recorded as a death in the usual way on the death register?

Again, I apologise for my ignorance! I am well aware that this is a very sensitive subject.

Elaine

No.

However a separate stillbirth register was introduced in 1927. The records are held at the GRO, but due to the sensitive nature, they are not generally accessible, except as follows:-

* A certificate will only be issued to the mother or father of a stillborn child (The father's details would need to be recorded in the register entry for him to be able to obtain a certificate).

* Siblings may apply if their mother and father are no longer alive. They should send details of their parents' dates of death with their application.

I have found the answer. Thanks for reading my question!

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if a stillborn child would have been registered as a death in approx 1935-45?

Many thanks.

Elaine