Genealogy Chat

A sensitive question but I would appreciate any thoughts. If a mother gave birth to a still born child in the 50's ( believed full term ), would there be a birth certificate and death certificate or just a death certificate? Or would a birth certificate only be issued if the child lived all be it for only a few minutes after birth. Thanks Adrian

If the child was stillborn there would be no birth or death record in the normal GRO indexes. There is a separate Stillborn Register, kept at Southport, but it is not an open register and only the parents can get a copy, or if the parents are dead then a sibling can apply. It's easiest to phone them and they will send out an application form. If the child took even a few breaths, then it should have a birth certificate in the normal way. Kath. x

Hi, Thanks for the information. I will have to think carefully before proceding further. Adrian

There is a unspoken story in the family that my mother had another child ( still born ) before me. I just wondered if there was another way of confirming this without dragging up the past bearing in mind that she is 78. I wonder if I am taking family history too far ? Adrian

Adrian, As a mother myself (although not having lost a child, so maybe Linda would know better) I think that if I had lost a baby, I might quite like to be able to talk about the child, especially if a reasonable amount of time had gone by. I'm not saying the loss would be any the less now, just that being able to acknowledge the child might be something your mother might welcome. You obviously know your mother best though. Is she interested in your research into family history? If she is, then you could possibly talk about your other findings and gradually bring the conversation round to your possible sibling. Your mother, like Linda, might also like to be able to have a certificate, which would be tangable evidence of the childs existence. Kath. x

Thanks for your time and thoughts. Unfortunately due to distance I do not get the chance to see her as often as I would like and I do not feel this would be best done over the telephone ! I will probably try and broach the subject the next time I am visiting. Regards Adrian

If you are thinking of adding this baby to your family tree - if the baby was alive at birth and died subsequently, you should be able to find its birth and death in the GRO indexes in the usual way. If the baby was stillborn, why would you add it to the tree? nell

Hi Adrien, My first son was stillborn and I've never tried to 'hide' him though I never found a way of telling my subsequent children about him - How on earth do you say 'By the way...you should have had a big brother but he died'??? I was actually quite relieved when recently a friend's little girl spilt the beans and my boys aged 9 & 10 started asking questions. He DID exist, but as a conversation opener I don't know if I'd've had the courage to tell the boys I suppose what I'm trying to say Adrien, is that perhaps your mum will not mind you asking her about your brother, perhaps she just never found the 'right' moment (I don't think there is one) to talk to you about him. Good luck Sarah

Adrian I think that things are talked about much more now than they used to be. My mother-in-law told me about her first baby - but she was told he was born dead, although she maintains that she heard him cry. My father-in-law never spoke about it. I found out after they were both dead that he had registered the baby's birth and death on the same day. The baby was named, so I have added him to the family tree, and he lived for 2 minutes. I imagine that telling my m-i-l he was born dead was meant to help her. My brother and sister in law also lost a child, which they named, when he was born prematurely. They were encouraged to name him, and take photos etc. People have different ways of dealing with grief and who knows which way is best? nell

Adrian, i am really greatful for you broaching this sbject, i was told only recently after my mothers death that i was a twin, my 'brother' or 'sister' didnt survive. i can now look for information on the stillborn register. many thanks tracey

It is strange.........I was just about to post a question about still born births when I saw this one.....there is a story in my mothers family about her brother's wife giving birth to triplets (1920 -1930) who were either still born or who died shortly after birth - both her and her mother were midwives but didn't realise that there was going to be a muliple birth. I was curious because the story goes on that the children were buried in the same grave as my grandfather - the parents having no money to buy a grave - and so there was no room to bury my grandmother in the same grave. I can find no record of either the births or the deaths and so wondered if this story was true or if the children were not registered at all. I didn't realise that there was a still born register - does anyone know when this was started? Christine

have just bumped a thread for you to read titled STILLBIRTH - SOME ANSWERS by Maz in the East End Hope it helps xx

Registering stillbirths began in 1927. Kath. x