You may be given a Birth Information Worksheet by your midwife or Vital Statistics office. This worksheet is what the registrar uses to type of the original Certificate of Live Birth. There are 2 examples of this worksheet available below, but you may find that your county uses a different form. There are some counties that are using a very old worksheet that actually asks for the midwife’s name and address, if your county uses this form, leave that section blank, you do not want to put your midwife in jeopardy.
The top portion of the worksheet (white) consists of 4 sections: Child, Parents, Certifier and Race. The worksheet (blue) consists of 3 sections: Child, Parents, Race. This section has to be filled out.
The lower portion of the worksheet states, “For Medical and Health Use Only” or “For Medical and Statistical Use Only” and you are not required to fill out this section. The information from this section is used to compile the vital statistics like the NC Baby Book. If you want to contribute to these statistics, fill it out. If you do not care for the State to know your personal information, you can simply tell the registrar, “I’m not required by law to fill this part out and I never give out my personal information.”
Sections
Child: The questions are self-explanatory. For place of birth, put “Residence.”
Parents: In this section it asks, “Social Security Number Requested?” if you want a SSN for your child mark yes here; otherwise you will not receive one. At this time, the Social Security office is not accepting birth certificates as proof of identity, they are instead asking for vaccination records, passports, school records, etc. This may pose a problem if you are not vaccinating and your baby is not school-aged. Occasionally, even when you mark “Yes” you will not receive a SS card in the mail and you will have to go to the SS office and request one.
Certifier (on white form): If you have a Certified Nurse Midwife as your attendant, she will fill out this information, otherwise the father can print his name here as the certifier. According to the NC Vital Records Field Services Procedures,
(c) When a birth occurs outside a hospital or other medical facility, the certificate shall be prepared and filed by one of the following in the indicated order of priority:
(1) The physician in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or in the absence
of such a person;
(2) Any other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or in the
absence of such a person;
(3) The father, the mother or, in the absence or inability of the father and the
mother, the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred.
Race: The information here is self-explanatory.
After you complete the Birth Information Worksheet you will give it to the registrar and she will type the official Certificate of Live Birth. Make sure that you proofread the official copy very carefully and note that the SSN section is marked appropriately to your wishes.
The important thing to remember is that no matter what Birth Information Worksheet that your county uses, you are not required to fill out the lower portion. So, you may ask what legal document proves that I don't have to fill out this lower portion? Well, according to an expert in these matters, "there is no statute or written authority mandating filling it out in the first place." She goes on to say and advise, "The fact that most homebirthers do NOT fill it out is proof that it is not required. I advise people to simply say no, that there is no documentation requiring that personal info. The office folks cannot prove otherwise. If the local deputy registrar will not file it then the parents can demand the form to fill out and send to Raleigh themselves.Raleigh WILL file it."
In addition, you are not required to tell if the birth was intended to be at home or who was with you at the time. Who cut the cord has no bearing on who delivered the baby. According to the local expert on these matters, “It doesn't matter if the midwife only sat on her hands and gave advice, she can still be charged with practicing midwifery without a license. According to NC midwifery law, if she "provided thermal stability" to a newborn (translate, put a blanket on baby!) she practiced midwifery and broke the law.”
