Certificates of Stillbirth
This week, I was flipping through a recent issue of People Magazine, looking for a little brainless guilty-pleasure. Then I stumbled across an article about stillbirth. The article talked about how in most states, when a stillbirth occurs, the only certificate provided to the parents is a certificate of death. There is no certificate of birth.
We're not talking about early miscarriages here. Nor are we talking about abortions. We are talking about full-term babies who were born dead. Imagine going through 40 weeks of pregnancy and then labor, only to bear a dead child.
I cannot imagine what could be worse than that.
These babies are generally treated by the family like any other child that has died. They are named. They are buried. There is often a memorial service. But there is no certificate of birth.
Some states will now issue a "Certificate of Still Birth", just like they issue a "Certificate of Live Birth". I think this is a great idea. It doesn't hurt anyone for these grieving parents to have a piece of paper that acknowledges their child.
Apparently there are pro-choice advocates who oppose measures to issue stillbirth certificates, because it implies that a child exists as more than a fetus before it is born. I wonder what their feeling would be if they were the ones who suffered a stillbirth. Would they be sitting back without any emotion saying, "It doesn't matter. It was just a fetus." I doubt it.
At this time, the only states issuing Certificates of Still Birth (or something comparable) are Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, South Carolina, Utah, Texas, and Wisconsin. There are a lot of states left to go.
If your state is not on this list, I urge you to contact your legislators and encourage them to support measures to issue Certificates of Still Birth. You can contact the National Stillbirth Society for letter-writing suggestions.
We're not talking about early miscarriages here. Nor are we talking about abortions. We are talking about full-term babies who were born dead. Imagine going through 40 weeks of pregnancy and then labor, only to bear a dead child.
I cannot imagine what could be worse than that.
These babies are generally treated by the family like any other child that has died. They are named. They are buried. There is often a memorial service. But there is no certificate of birth.
Some states will now issue a "Certificate of Still Birth", just like they issue a "Certificate of Live Birth". I think this is a great idea. It doesn't hurt anyone for these grieving parents to have a piece of paper that acknowledges their child.
Apparently there are pro-choice advocates who oppose measures to issue stillbirth certificates, because it implies that a child exists as more than a fetus before it is born. I wonder what their feeling would be if they were the ones who suffered a stillbirth. Would they be sitting back without any emotion saying, "It doesn't matter. It was just a fetus." I doubt it.
At this time, the only states issuing Certificates of Still Birth (or something comparable) are Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, South Carolina, Utah, Texas, and Wisconsin. There are a lot of states left to go.
If your state is not on this list, I urge you to contact your legislators and encourage them to support measures to issue Certificates of Still Birth. You can contact the National Stillbirth Society for letter-writing suggestions.
posted by Susan | 8:55 AM
3 Comments:
I came across your comment on stillbirth and just wanted to say thank you for understanding how hard it is for us parents who have lost a child to not be given a simple piece of paper. In California we are issued only a fetal death certificate. Believe me it would mean so much more to receive a certificate of stillbirth than simply the death certificate I have in my empty son’s bedroom.
You have wonderful insight. As a parent who has lost a child to stillbirth, you are correct in how much this little piece of paper means to us. I'm fortunate that I live in a state that now issues a certificate. I cried the day I received it just like the day my daughter was born still.
Wow. That is all I can say. It is very rare to find someone who "gets" this, unless they themselves have delivered a stillborn baby. Thank you for your comments. Stillborn mothers still have to labor and give birth. I live in California and my son has no birth certificate. It is more than acknowledgement to me, if all of these babies were officially "counted" maybe more research would be getting done on prevention. These are wanted and much planned for babies. Not the same as an abortion at all. Thank you again.
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