While preparing for my VBA2C, I joined various gentle birth groups to get as much information as I can get about what we were about to do and also to be empowered by women who successfully did it. During my stay in those groups, I’ve seen a lot of women asking about the procedures when it comes to registering the child if a home birth occurred.
My husband and I agreed to give birth in St. Luke’s BGC (and we did) so the registration issue concerning home births was not our concern. However, I thought I’d dig into it more to help those planning to do it.
My dad being a Civil Registrar, I went to him first.
Will the child be registered if the birth occurred at home?
Short answer: Irrespective of whether the child was born at home, in a birthing facility, or in a hospital, it is the right of the child to a name and a nationality.
Let me repeat that… the child has the right to be registered… even if the child was born at home.
I’m sure there are a lot of questions going through your head now.
I saw a lot of threads asking about home births and how it may pose a problem come registration time. The reason behind that is this: In 2013, the Department of Health implemented the ‘No Home Birthing Policy’ which requires mothers to give birth in hospitals or registered birthing facilities. This is in response to the high maternal and infant mortality rate in recent years.
The next question then is…
What happens if the birth occurred at home?
Under the law on registration, it is the duty/responsibility of the attendant at birth to register the birth in the place where the birth occurred. If the birth occurred at home, you will still need to register the child.
However, depending on the ordinance of your town/city regarding home births, penalties may be incurred by the birth attendant.
That said, midwives will most likely not attend a home birth if there is an ordinance in place. If you are aware of an ordinance and your birth attendant says it’s okay, think twice because you wouldn’t want to have problems come registration time.
Also, if you have questions about giving birth at home or registration, go straight to your Municipal/City Civil Registrar’s office. They should be able to answer your questions and help clarify a lot of things.
What do we do if we want a gentle birth?
Gentle Birth doesn’t just happen at home. You can have it in a birthing center or a hospital, just like me. To be honest, I think more than the place of birth, what’s important is to find a provider who you connect with.
In our case, we went to different OB-Gyne’s before we made a decision to have Dra. Karen Ty-Torredes assist in the birth of Charlie. We also requested the presence of Doula Ros Macachor during the birth. I never told Dra. Karen and Doula Ros why we chose them, but really, it’s because my husband and I both felt a connection with them the most over others we considered.
We trusted their expertise, we felt that they’re sincere in helping us achieve a gentle birth, and we knew they will take care of us whatever happens. You can read more about our VBA2C Journey here.
Do you have questions about giving birth at home in the Philippines? Or do you have questions about registration? Comment below and we’ll try our best to answer your questions!
If you have information to further clarify the no home birthing procedures in the Philippines, please e-mail me at kim@momonduty.com so we can work together in updating this blog post. Thank you!
