Draft Proposal January 9, 1998
Department of Health Services
Center for Health Statistics
304 S Street
Sacramento, CA 94244-0241
Office of Vital RecordsMINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR LRDs FOR REGISTERING OUT HOSPITAL BIRTHS
H&SC Section 102415 states: "For live births that occur outside of a hospital, the physician in attendance at the birth; or in the absence of a physician, either one of the parents shall be responsible for entering the information on the certificate, securing the required signatures, and for registering the certificate with the local registrar." Accordingly, when a physician is the attendant at an out-of-hospital birth, the physician must register the event. If there is no physician in attendance, then the parent(s) must register the birth."
NOTE: Assembly Bill (AB) 1832, Chapter 1062 of the 1996 Statutes amended H&SC Section 102425(a) (4) to read: ". . . that if the parents are not married to each other,the father's name shall not be listed on the birth certificate unless the father and mother sign a declaration of paternity at the hospital"
Local registrars must make paternity declarations available free of charge, witness the signatures of the parents wishing to sign the declaration, must require government issued photo identification to establish that the person is the individual who signed the declaration, may complete the witness section of the form and may forward the signed declaration to OVR.
It is recommended that LRD's require that births be registered on an appointrnent-only basis.
LRD's will not provide parents, certified nurse midwives/licensed midwives, nor the attending physician with blank birth certificates. The certificate is to be completed at the LRD's office.
Three different packets are available for registration of out-of-hospital births. (1) Packet A (pages 4-16) is to be used for registering births attended by a physician; (2) Packet B (pages 17- 32) is to be used for registering births assisted by a certified nurse niidwife/licensed midwife, and (3) Packet C (pages 33-47) is to be used for all other out-of-hospital births.
Physician Attended the Birth:
The physician who attended the birth must register the child's birth at the LRD's office. The physician is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information on the birth certificate. The physician must advise the parents of the need to appear together for registration of the birth at the health department. If this is impossible, either parent may go to the health department to register the birth. The physician may go in at a time other than when the parent(s) can appear. The physician is required to follow all instructions in the packet.
The LRD will provide the physician with the "Physician’s Out of Hospital Birth Packet." (See Packet A)
The parent (s) must come to the LRD's sign the child's birth certificate within I0 days of the birth or before one birth. The parent(s) will present a government issued photo identification. No blank birth certificate form will be mailed (provided) to either the physician or parent(s)
Certified Nurse Midwife/Licensed Midwife Attended the Birth:
Birth certificates where the birth was attended by a certified nurse midwife or licensed midwife, must be filled out by the parent (H&SC Section 102415). The certified nurse midwife/licensed midwife who attended the out-of-hospital birth may be the witness and will need to present a government issued photo identification. The certified nurse midwife/licensed midwife may come in and sign the birth certificate at a time other than the parent(s) but within ten working days after the parent(s) signs the birth certificate, or another witness may sign the certificate at the time of the out-of-hospitals birth appointment. The certified nurse midwife/licensed midwife or witness is required to follow all instructions in the packet.
The LRD will provide the certified nurse midwife/licensed midwife with the "Certified Nurse Midwife/Licensed Midwife's Out-of- Hospital Birth Packet." (See Packet B)
The parent(s) will come to the LRD's office to complete and sign the child's birth certificate within 10 days of the birth or before one year of the date of birth. The parent(s) will present a government issued photo identification and bring the child.
No birth certificate form will be mailed (provided) to either the certified nurse midwife/licensed midwife or parents(s).
No Physician or Certified Nurse Midwife/Licensed Midwife Attended the Birth:
The LDR will provide the parent with the "All Other Out-of-Hospital Birth Packet."
(See Packet C)The parent(s) will come to the LRD's office to complete and sign the child's birth certificate within 10 days of the birth or before one year of the birth.
The parent(s) will present a government issued photo identification and bring the child.
The witness will present a government issued photo identification, and come to the appointment.
No birth certificate form will be mailed (provided) to either the witness or parent(s).
A child may sign as attendant for an out-of-hospital birth. The child's age is not a consideration, provided the child is able to attest to the correctness of the information and is able to print or write his or her name, or is able to make a "mark" (i.e., ")C').
Birth Registration by Hospitals
The hospitals will be encouraged to complete the child's birth certificate in the following situation, but the attendant at the birth must sign the certificate:
The birth occurred on the way to the hospital, where the mother planned to have her child (the hospital staff or emergency personnel cut the cord or delivered the placenta). The hospital has access to the mother's medical records (including the emergency room records for both mother and child), and documentation that supports that the birth occurred within the State of California;
OR
The birth (baby and placenta already delivered) occurred on the way to the hospital and the hospital has access to the mother's medical records (emergency room records for the mother and child), and these records document that the birth was recent and within the State of California,
In any of the above situations, if it appears that the infant was not delivered from the woman who accompanied it, the birth should not be registered by the hospital.
When the child is born in route to the hospital the birth must be registered in the county where the birth actually occurred.
LRD's may supplement but not replace these procedures with additional requirements needed to verify the circumstances of the birth. If the LRD establishes additional routine procedures other than these, prior written approval from the State Registrar is necessary. The LRD may initiate field investigation by case basis, as warranted by the individual situation without prior approval by the State Registrar.
After the above requirements and those in the packet(s) are met, the birth certificate will be registered. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LOCAL REGISTRARS TO ASSURE THE VALIDITY AND ACCURACY OF THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE.
If the above requirements and those in the packet(s) cannot be met, the local registrar must refuse to register the birth certificate. In these cases, the birth may only be registered by authority of a Superior Court, as provided for in H&SC Section 103450, or after the child's first birth day via the delayed birth registration process (H&SC Sections 102525 - 102610).
NOTE:
1. There may be times when completion of a certificate for an out of hospital birth is started, but for some reason is never completed. Should this occur, LRD's may retain the certificate in a "pending" file for a period not more than one year from the date of birth.
2. Children born outside a hospital are NOT ELIGIBLE FOR NEWBORN AUTOMATIC NUMBERING ASSIGNMENT (NANA). In these cases, parents must obtain their child's social security number through the local federal Social Security Administration (SSA) office.
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