Petition · past parliament · Home Office

Make it easier to register the birth and death of a baby

Closed 200 signatures

What the petition asks

Under the current system parents have to go to a registry office to register the birth and death of their baby. During such a traumatic time it is an additional cause of pain which is entirely bureaucratic and entirely preventable. Paperwork could be easily completed in hospital or by a third party.
In December 2018 our daughter died 6 hours after she was born following an emergency csection. The day she died was highly traumatic and we were both in shock as well as a deep grief. After leaving the hospital with a box of leaflets rather than our baby we started the new year with an appointment at our local registry office to register her birth and death. Despite the staff's best efforts to minimise the pain of the process it was impossible to escape the fact we had to relive the pain just for a piece of paper. This could easily have been done by someone in the hospital when it happened, or we could have asked someone else to do it for us. No parents should have to do this in the first few weeks after such a loss. Let parents and families grieve in peace.

Timeline

21 Sep 2020 Petition opened for signatures
21 Mar 2021 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 200
Status Closed
Department Home Office
Opened 21 Sep 2020
Closed 21 Mar 2021

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.