[barefoot mama]

Dh and I went to the county clerk's office today. We took our baby and ID for each of us, just as we were told to do. Of course parking is terrible downtown and we had to park REALLY far away and wait in a really long line.

So I fill out the form and the clerk tells me I did it wrong because I accidently put my address where the hospital address goes. Dh tells her the baby was born at home. The clerk gets a blank look on her face. Then she comes around for a moment and says then she needs to see the paperwork from the mw. Dh tells her there was no mw. The clerk develops the blankest look I have ever seen. She repeats several times "no midwife? No hospital?". Dh says rather loudly "Yes, babies will come out even if there is no doctor or midwife." The clerk talked to the manager and several other employees. She came back to us at one point to repeat "No midwife?". She looked through several giant books.

Finally she came back to us and said we have to come back with a note from the doctor giving all his birth stats on letterhead or we would not be allowed to apply for a BC. We left at that point because honestly my head is foggy and I already feel beaten down. It hasn't been very long since Marissa died and I don't have the strength to deal with this crap.

What I should have said is that it is NOT illegal to have a baby at my house without an attendant. It is also NOT illegal to not take him to a doctor (without telling her whether I have or haven't (I haven't)). So how can they deny him a bc?

My sister is my doc, so I couls ask for what they want from her, but I don't want to put her in that position- she shouldn't have to compromise her job for me. So what do I do? Suggestions? The lady standing next to us told us to call a lawyer.

 

[mysticmomma]

what state are you in? Usually, you need proof of pregnancy and proof of live birth... give me info and I'll hunt some stuff for you. (County will help too.)

 

[mama in the forest]

Hi Jen,

:

As you know I'm in the same state as you

......just a different county. I've had two births here & the ladies at my courthouse give me no trouble at all!! We go in, fill out the paperwork, give the answers to all their silly questions (apgar scores etc) and I've gotten the BC's just fine.

I am both mother and certifyer on the certificates.....and they do not require any proof or documentation whatsoever!

I think your clerks are wrong - shouldn't the law be the same county to county? If I was you I'd go back in there and tell them you are NOT required to do this!

 

[rajahkat]

ugh jen. I'm so sorry. I dealt with the same crap after my first. They kept insisting I "needed" to have him seen by a doctor. I eventually gave up too. FWIW, I did end up seeing a lawyer, really to no avail. She basically told me I could jump through some hoops OR pay tons of money AND jump through some hoops. He still doesn't have a bc.

:

I don't really see how asking your sis to put birth stats on letterhead is putting her in a questionable position? If you don't mind having her look him over and "declare" him "seen" by a doc......you're not really asking her to do anything unethical.......no need to puniush yourself for the good-fortune of having a doc in the family. Honestly, I suggest going that route.

Or if you want to wait until babe is a year old, you can then file by mail for a delayed birth certicate (what I've had to do with #1) You'll still need SOME type of record be it a dr's record or insurance policy, though.

Oh! And save yourself the headache I am currently enduring with #2 (none of my kids are "properly" documented) and CHECK the box that you do want a ss# (if you do). Because I made the mistake of not (as per the clerks suggestion) and the ss office won't give him a number because all I have for him is a birth certificate.

:

So good luck! I sincerely hope you have an easier time than I have had!

Kat

 

[lanielayne]

With our 1st UC they told us they had to have a doc sign a paper saying she was seen. I took her in and he looked her over. We just asked him if he would type up on letterhead that he had seen her and she was healthy. That worked. I was a PITA but it worked. I also had to have notarized witnesses to my birth too. I have heard this state is different and easier. I sure hope so!

 

[aisraeltax]

the laws are by state so it cant be different county by county. i would contact your state and see what the requirements are.

so sorry you are having to go through this.

i didnt get my son's bc until the day before he was 6 months old. they told me legally i had to get it by 6 months. and then what? were they going to put me in jail??

:

 

[Emilie]

It depends if the county you are in is familair with HB/uc? And the attitude and personal issues of the clerk.

We had to call the State head - and have a man their who deals with birth certificates call the county office and explain to them exactly what to do.

It was a pain. Big time.

The lady who filled out the paperwork kept wanting My mw's name. ( I had a mw) She gave up. I told her I delivered the baby myself( and I did) and she about fell off her chair.

It will work out. It just might be alot of calling and finding the right person.

Call back to the county office tomorrow. Ask them for the state records dept. Then once you get their get the person who does the birth certificates. I hope it works out for you. I was tempted to go to a different county to get it just so they would have a clue!
I was the first hb in my county?!?!?!?!?!?!?! cant be.

 

[Kidzaplenty]

I have found that it is much easier to call the records department and tell them that you want to register a home birth (without giving my name) and ask them what kind of information they need. This is better than surprising them in person. And the records department is usually more knowledgeable that just the clerk when you go to file.

I have found that I always have to have proof of pgcy and proof of live birth. You can get these in various places, but taking the baby to the doctor or the health department for a check up is the easiest and fastest way. And the sooner you do this the better. As time goes by, they may begin to question it more. After a long period of time, there is so much more red tape to cut through. I always get two to three statements from people that know me and know I had a home birth, too, as added proof of live birth.

 

[barefoot mama]

I called my sister and made an appointment for the 22nd. She's just going to write some sort of thing saying he's healthy. I hope that works. I think the problem is no one really knows what to do and there must not be any standard that's easily accessable.

Ideally I would march back in there and tell them I know the law and they need to give me a bc. But because of where I happen to be in life right now, I am so not up for that.

Before I just filled out a form, sent it in the mail and voila- bc and social security card arrived. Apparently the laws changed last month.

If the doctor's note doesn't work, I'll move on to making phone calls.

You know, this all just makes me really really angry. It's like they are (once again) telling me if I would only conform and do what I'm told it would all be so much easier on me. Why can't I just have my babies in the hospital like every other "normal" person?

BTW, I'm in Michigan.

 

[CryPixie83]

Ohh that reminds me, I need to go get proof of pregnancy before I go into labor!

That'll look funny: walking into planned parenthood 9 months pregnant asking for a pregnancy test

 

[Intertwined]

Oh vey! We went through this with the SS office last year.

 

[sahli29]

When I had my first UC I filled the bc 8 months after she was born.I had to make an appointment.Found that out AFTER driving downtown and waiting in line.

Needed a photo id,and something stating I had been pregnant-which the lady barely glanced at!I filled out all the paperwork,pregnancy info,birth stats/apgar,and so on.Oh, and we had to sign/notarize a form that stated we(dh and I) attended the birth(lol).This was in Ohio/Cuyahoga county. She was very nice.No attitude at all from anyone at the place. Hope it went well for you.

 

[littleteapot]

I just filed for Xan's birth stuff and all I needed was to have two friends (not relatives) come with me to the vital stats office and sign an affidavit in front of a clerk, then swear under oath that they did know me while I was pregnant and "To the best of their knowledge" the baby is mine. Then it was all good.

 

[~Mamaterra~]

Babs,

How much "detailed information" did your friends include? We are going through the same thing for Morgan and I only have one friend with "detailed knowledge". I called Vital Stats and they will allow my sister to swear for me if need be....So my question comes back to how much knowledge constitutes "detailed"?

 

[littleteapot]

CDN mom, nothing.

All they had to know is who I was and that they knew me while pregnant and then knew that the baby was mine (or "to the best of their knowledge").

The affidavit read something along the lines of, "I knew of firstname nee lastname when she was pregnant and to the best of my knowledge she gave birth to her son on October 3rd at (address) where the family lives."
Then after they signed it the officer asks them if they officially declare this, under oath, to be true - they say yes, and it's over.

 

[Sara Ann]

Awww, crap! I hope I don't have any trouble when the time comes.

 

[littleteapot]

It really wasn't any trouble at all for me... I tried to register with only DH's name in the attendant's thing and they called and asked if it was an unattended homebirth, I said yes, so a few days later they sent me along a little package with the forms I needed to fill out (they actually have a package just for unassisted birth! I thought that was neat).
Then I went down to a vital stats office with my two friends and did it. 20 minutes tops.

:

 

[barefoot mama]

Wow. Where are you? I wish it was that easy here.

I still don't have a BC for Max. We're going again tomorrow. Third time's a charm I hope.

 

[littleteapot]

Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada. Unless you were asking rhetorically.

 

[barefoot mama]

They finally gave it to us. Woohoo! Max now officially exists

Now we shall see if the social security number works out OK. I've heard a lot of people in my county have trouble with that.