info to give when registering a birth

[sarahbear]

Hi,

A friend of mine's baby is due soon. She thinks of this as her first but has had a baby before which was adopted. She has not told anyone caring for her about this baby but is wondering whether she has to mention the adopted one when she registers the birth. i dont think she will because the baby had a different father and when my sister registered her babys birth, the registrar asked if they had any children together, so presumably even if you do have to mention adopted children normally, you dont have to if they were by a different partner

Does her new partner know about the previous baby? If he does, I would tell the registrar if s/he asks but, tbh, I can't remember mine asking. Thye are very sensitive to complicated family issues though. I was late registering my daughter due to an uncooperative father but he (the registrar) was so kind on the 'phone when I asked for advice. In fact, why not ring beforehand to find out?

Hi Sarahbear,

In answer to your friend's question, I'm pretty certain she doesn't have to mention it when registering.

I had a baby adopted at birth, and have subsequently had two more boys - ds1 and ds2. But dh registered the births, so can't be 100% certain as to what was asked.

However, your post just made a few alarm bells ring for me. I am surprised that your friend "thinks of this as her first" ... Is this really true? It certainly isn't for me. I refer to my boys now as ds1 and ds2 on here - but only because it's easier than constantly explaining. There is no way I regard ds1 as 'my first'. I think of him often, particularly on anniversaries, and I'm sure your friend does too.

I would also strongly encourage her to tell her m/w and HV about the adopted baby, as the new baby will definitely bring back some difficult memories for her, and it really is easier if everyone knows the situation.

Anyway - hope things go well for your friend. Encourage her to post on here too. I for one would love to speak to her, and swap/share stories and experiences.

Roisin x

another question, when she claims child benefit will she have to mention the first one, presumably they will know anyway

No, she won't have to mention the adopted baby. CB are only interested in children who actually live with the person claiming CB.