Deaths of Babies

[aghadowey]

This week, in Yorkshire, a farmer's widow aged 97 was carried on the shoulders of 8 grandchildren from the farm gate to the parish church.  Admittedly, only about 300 yards, but following the path of her husband in 2020 and two previous generations which I know of.  Probably the last to receive that honour.

I was heartened to see a bin lorry, which had happened to meet the head of the procession, stopped in the road, switched off his engine and waited until everyone had passed through the church gate.

It's not uncommon here in Northern Ireland for the casket to be carried a far longer distance. A few years ago when aunt died her coffin was carried the mile from her residence to the church with plenty of men in the procession for each lift. If the residence is a considerable distance it might be that the hearse stops at a certain point before the church for the lifts to take place (the undertaker would discuss this with the family beforehand).
My daughter works in a shop in a small nearby village and whenever a funeral in to pass by everything comes to a stand still and staff stand outside with heads bowed.

[Viktoria]

Yes,aghadowey ,people in the  street stopped as a funeral passed by and men took their hats off.
Curtains were closed in a street when a death occurred and neighbours collected for a wreath which would be displayed on a stool or chair outside the home of the deceased.People would stand at their doors as the funeral cortège passed.
Traffic slowed and shopkeepers stood at their doors.
Communities were much closer knit in those days,194o’s 50’s and 60’s.

Viktoria.

[louisa maud]

Viktoria,  my father did the same,   he was partially blind and my mum would tell him there was a funeral and he doffed his cap, we closed our curtains as well, in fact I still do if there is a neighbour  passing in a hearse, called respect.

Neighbours  don't  appear to do street collections anymore.

LM

[louisa maud]

Someone spoke about still  births, there is a register for still  births separate from the normal birth registers, you have to apply to the general registrar,  have done it myself,  not sure of the start date of the register.

LM

[aghadowey]

In England, registration of stillbirths began in 1927. However those records are not open to the public or indexed the same way as other births.

Due to the sensitive nature of stillbirth registrations, the procedure for ordering a copy of a stillbirth entry differs from other types of certificates. Apart from very recent events, the General Register Office holds records of all stillbirths registered in England and Wales since 1 July 1927. Certified copies of these records can only be obtained with the registrar general's consent.

a certificate will only be issued to the mother or father of a stillborn child
siblings may apply if their parents are deceased - details of their parents dates of death should be sent with the application

[louisa maud]

No they aren't but I did order one as I had details.
LM

[Gillg]

My little granddaughter was born prematurely at 26 weeks (normal pregnancy being about 37 weeks).  She lived for just 4 minutes, but her lungs were not sufficiently developed for her to be able to breathe and the doctors were unable to save her.  Because she had been born alive the birth and death had to be registered and a funeral service was held.  Apparently because she had reached the stage of 26 weeks of pregnancy this was necessary legallly.  Her tiny white coffin was buried in the family's country churchyard.    Had she been born a few weeks earlier it would have been counted as a miscarriage and the birth and death registration and would not have been required, I understand.

[AntonyMMM]

My little granddaughter was born prematurely at 26 weeks (normal pregnancy being about 37 weeks).  She lived for just 4 minutes, but her lungs were not sufficiently developed for her to be able to breathe and the doctors were unable to save her.  Because she had been born alive the birth and death had to be registered and a funeral service was held.  Apparently because she had reached the stage of 26 weeks of pregnancy this was necessary legallly.  Her tiny white coffin was buried in the family's country churchyard.    Had she been born a few weeks earlier it would have been counted as a miscarriage and the birth and death registration and would not have been required, I understand.

Very sad - as a registrar the worst appointments I had to deal with were the "neo-natal" ones where you had to register a birth & death at the same time, thankfully quite rare though.

The legality of having to register is purely dependent on the child taking an "independent breath" outside of the mother which then qualifies it as a live birth, the number of weeks of the pregnancy isn't relevant to that.

The number of completed weeks of pregnancy is relevant to determining whether an event is a stillbirth or not - the relevant time for that being a child born dead from 24 weeks onwards which  would then be recorded in the stillbirth register (not as a birth or death). The time used to be 28 weeks but was reduced ( in 1992 I think) reflecting the advances in neo-natal care.

If before 24 weeks (unless a breath is taken) there would be no record in the registration system.

[coombs]

A distant cousin of mine who I have met with a few times was a twin and she had a stillborn twin brother born in early February 1954.