Finally the time has come. Since today, a stillborn baby has the right to exist. A change in the law has made it possible to include a baby that is not viable at birth in the basic registry.
If you have never been confronted with it, you may not even realize it, but for parents who have been in this situation, this amendment is an important step forward.
They feel the pain of a lifeless baby that was previously unrecognized. But that has thankfully changed now. Of course, this does not change the grief that the parents have to go through. Still, the fact that your baby is recognized is a clear improvement. The right to exist for your stillborn baby is an important step in the processing of your loss.
By adding your baby to the personal register, your baby also becomes an official part of the family composition. Not only will your stillborn baby be part of the family emotionally, but your baby's right to exist is shown in all official documentation.
If your baby was stillborn and you have been pregnant for more than 24 weeks, you are obliged to register the birth of your baby. You can do that yourself, but the hospital or a funeral director may also take on that task.
Yet in the past, this was only made into a registration in the death register. Your baby's right to exist was not recognized in the birth register. Incidentally, this situation only occurred if your baby was stillborn. If your baby has lived for a while, your baby has already been added to the birth register. The line between recognizing or not recognizing the right to exist was therefore actually paper thin. Fortunately, that border has now disappeared.
Registration in the birth register can also be arranged with retroactive effect. Was a stillborn birth certificate drawn up for your stillborn baby at birth? Then you can have it converted. If you still want to have this arranged, please contact the municipality where your child was born at the time and where the death registration was also filed.
In the past, saying goodbye through a funeral or cremation was not simply arranged for your stillborn baby. In the event of a miscarriage before the 24th week of pregnancy, you as a parent even had the right to simply bury your baby in nature or in your garden.
The medical costs for a stillborn baby are 'covered' under the mother's health insurance. A funeral is therefore not arranged. The average costs for the funeral of a stillborn child are estimated at approximately € 1,000.00. In many cases, these costs are not covered by funeral insurance - even if both parents have funeral insurance for themselves. In some cases, funeral insurance makes an exception to this.
