Genealogy - Stillbirth Records

[jocon]

Are, or were, records of miscarriage children's deaths kept? I believe the last two (twins) of my Grandmother's thirteen children were stillborn - c1914 in London. I have records of all the other family members but have nothing for these - no names or dates. I thought perhaps parish records or burial records might have something. Would there have been usual burials in such cases? Any advice appreciated.

[jno]

apparently stillbirths have to be registered after 24 weeks, but not before

https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-library/Registration-of-stillbirth-SN05595.pdf

I don't know about parish records

[maggiebee]

Can only speak for Scotland, but I know stillbirths are registered here. I went with a friend to Register House in Edinburgh to find the records of her daughter's birth. Believe that only very close relatives can access these.

[jocon]

Thanks for interest - I did know something of present government regulations, but it's difficult to get info about attitudes and practices about such a subject from 100 or so years ago. No family remembrances available now.

[cleodog]

I went to our local registry office to ask about my grandmother giving birth to twins that were born dead and she said that before 1927 they didn’t register stillbirths .

[twix123]

The 1921 census is due to be published in January 2022, but checking on the questions asked, they dropped the one relating to the number of children a female had although they kept in the one about the number of children still living.
If your Grandmother's other children were christened at a particular church, their records may be available from the church authorities, or they may possibly have been lodged with the local County Records Office.
Good luck with your research.

[jocon]

Thanks for further answers and suggestions.