Statistics show that stillbirths during childbirth account for more than half of all stillbirths.

Due to the fact that in our country obstetric care is at the proper level, during forensic autopsies the majority of newborn corpses are attributed to births that took place without obstetric assistance, secretly, in an environment where the newborn is left without assistance, such as, for example, in the forest, field and etc.

The causes of death of an infant during childbirth are much more diverse than before birth and are more often the object of forensic medical examination. They can be combined into two main groups, namely: premature cessation of placental breathing - pressing, pinching, entanglement with the umbilical cord, etc. - and compression of the head by the birth canal.

Placental circulation under conditions normal birth continues for several minutes after the fetus has completely left the uterus. If placental respiration ends before pulmonary respiration begins, fetal death will occur, which can lead to his death during the act of childbirth or after birth if pulmonary respiration does not begin.

Placental blood circulation may stop prematurely due to the following reasons: 1) pressing of the umbilical cord, which is facilitated by its lengthening and entanglement around the child’s neck or around the limbs, sometimes so tightly that suffocation occurs. This happens during anhydrous, protracted labor; 2) a short umbilical cord, resulting in premature detachment of the placenta; 3) central presentation of the placenta; 4) excessive pushing of the uterus;
5) convulsive contractions of the uterus involving the fetal cervix, especially during the passage of the subsequent head during breech or leg presentation. In such rare cases, a depression in the form of a furrow 1-2 cm wide, reddish in color with a bluish tint, was found on the neck of a dead baby.

In all the described cases, in the presence of one of the above-mentioned reasons, the supply of oxygen through the placenta is stopped, causing carbon dioxide to accumulate in the blood of the unborn baby, irritating the medulla oblongata and thereby causing the onset of premature respiratory movements; the baby aspirates mucus, particles of vernix, hairs, and meconium into the trachea, large and small bronchi. Asphyxia due to compression of the umbilical cord is most often observed when the latter prolapses, which is facilitated by its elongation and the position of the fetus. In a transverse position and breech During the expulsion of the fetus, conditions are created that promote prolapse of the umbilical cord, which is also favored by a narrow pelvis, polyhydramnios and early rupture of the amniotic sac.

I. A. Arshavsky distinguishes three groups of asphyxia depending on the causes and conditions of their occurrence: 1) asphyxia of a toxic nature, mainly during pregnancy (eclampsia, toxicosis, etc.), 2) asphyxia as a result and 3) asphyxia due to aspiration of mucus and amniotic fluid into the respiratory tract.

There are observations that the development of blue asphyxia is the result of a sudden obstacle in the blood circulation of the fetus, while white asphyxia is the result of a slowly acting harmful factor.

The above classification is somewhat schematic and does not cover all the factors important for the forensic medical study of the causes of asphyxia in newborns; it requires further development.

The use of operations, i.e. so-called operative childbirth, results in a fairly significant percentage of asphyxia. Prof. I. F. Jordania provides a table demonstrating the effect of various operations on stillbirths in breech presentations.

Fetal death during childbirth can also occur in cases where the umbilical cord and its vessels are mostly attached not to the placenta, but to the membranes, and sometimes at a considerable distance from the edge of the placenta.

With this pathology, the umbilical vessels from the place of attachment to the placenta pass between the aqueous and chorionic membranes completely naked and not protected by Wharton’s jelly. Danger meningeal attachment umbilical cord injury occurs already during pregnancy due to malnutrition of the fetus, which can in some cases lead to death. With the onset of labor, pressure on the vessels leading to the placenta may occur, and even rupture, resulting in bleeding.

This anomaly of umbilical cord attachment is especially unfavorable if the site of bladder rupture coincides with the site of exposure of the umbilical cord vessels. Thus, as a result of compression of exposed vessels, asphyxia of the fetus may occur even in intrauterine life, and bleeding as a result of rupture of blood vessels mostly occurs during childbirth.

During an autopsy of a newborn whose death was due to asphyxia, an external examination reveals varying degrees of bluish coloration skin and face, ecchymosis of the conjunctiva of the eyes, plethora, presence in the respiratory tract amniotic fluid, mucus, vernix, hairs, blood and meconium. In the cavities of the nose, mouth, larynx, windpipe and bronchi, mucus and meconium are found, which can be histologically detected even in small bronchi.
Death by compression of the head. Compression or compression of the head within certain limits occurs during every birth. The passage of the fetus through the birth canal becomes possible with normal articulation of the fetus, which lies so as to occupy the smallest volume, for which it takes an ovoid shape corresponding to the uterine cavity. Some Selheim and Steckel believe that for the smallest volume, when passing through the birth canal, the fetus takes a shape approaching a cylinder - the so-called “fetal cylinder”.

As it passes through the birth canal, the fetal skull must change its configuration and decrease in size.

The bones of the fetal skull are connected to each other by fibrous, pliable tissue that forms sutures, so the bones of the skull during childbirth, due to compression, overlap one another, since the presence of sutures allows their mutual mobility.

When the shape and volume of the skull changes, the parietal bones at the sagittal suture move over one another, the frontal and occipital bones at the level of the temporal and fronto-occipital sutures move over one another and fit under the parietal bones. As a result of compression of the head bones, a temporary reduction in the brain occurs. This compression of the brain as the head passes causes the heart to slow down.

The adaptive configuration of the head refers to the physiological conditions of the birth process, however, these conditions can sometimes cross the border of physiology and become pathological, with consequent adverse consequences for the fetus: severe damage and death can occur.

Prolonged labor can cause damage to the skull bones in the form of depressions and cracks, also under certain conditions leading to the death of the fetus. Such cracks are almost always localized in the parietal bones, sometimes on both sides, and run radially from the center of the convex part of the bone to the periphery. The appearance of such cracks is associated not only with the characteristics of the birth process, but also with the configuration of the bones and ossification defects.

Depressions on the bones of the head are located on the frontal and parietal bones: their formation is associated with the pressure of the promontorium or bones of the pubic symphysis during prolonged labor, with large degrees of narrowing of the pelvis, with large fruit. Hemorrhages along the crack or along the impression serve as evidence of their intravital origin.

If the head remains in the pelvic cavity for a long time, especially if part of it is located outside the cervix, a head tumor of doughy consistency may form on it due to swelling and saturation of the tissues with lymph.

As a result of prolonged labor, the head tumor becomes bloody, the so-called cephalohematoma. Cephalohematoma is a fluctuating tumor the size of egg and more, which is a hemorrhage under the periosteum of the parietal bones, mostly one-sided. A blood tumor occurs as a result of displacement of the soft parts, which disrupts the integrity of the vessels going from the periosteum to the bone. Unlike a diffuse cephalic tumor, it is sharply demarcated and never crosses the suture lines or through the fontanelle.

It is important to know that the head tumor disappears after 2-3 days, but the blood tumor, on the contrary, increases during the first days. Two or three cephalohematomas can form on one head. Cephalohematoma can be the result of prolonged and difficult expulsion of the head or surgical delivery. Its resorption continues for 2-3 months. A cephalohematoma differs from intentional injuries by the presence of a circular bone shaft, which is formed as a result of new bone formation, which does not happen with violent injuries.

With a narrow pelvis, with prolonged and difficult birth, with a large fetus, as well as with a pathological course of labor or surgical intervention, intracranial or cerebral hemorrhages are detected. Hemorrhages in stillbirths occur in an average of 25-30%. The incidence of intracranial hemorrhage during breech birth is especially high. According to P. M. Buiko,
S.V. Kisina, intracranial hemorrhages with breech presentation are much more common than with cephalic presentation.

Seitz distinguishes between three types of hemorrhages.

Hemorrhage from the sinus sagittalis or from one of the veins flowing into it. In this case, the tentorium cerebelli is not affected.

During childbirth, favorable conditions arise for the occurrence of hemorrhage: with the configuration of the head, the parietal bones are pushed against one another, which creates difficulty in the outflow from the main efferent trunk of the sinus longitudinalis. In this case, swelling of the brain with extravasation may occur, and with prolonged compression, due to uterine stricture, hemorrhage.
When the scales of the occipital bone are pushed onto the parietal bones, compression of the sinus transversus or rectus occurs and rupture of the sinuses. The main mass of blood is found under the tentorium cerebelli. Hemorrhage sometimes spreads through the cerebellum to the medulla oblongata.
The third option, relatively rare, is hemorrhage into the ventricles, from where blood can enter the medulla oblongata.

In most cases, hemorrhage during childbirth occurs as a result of rupture of the tentorium cerebelli. Such ruptures occur from compression of the head in the direction from temple to temple. These hemorrhages are divided into supra- and infratentorial. Experience shows that changing the position of the head and lengthening its size, for example, with extension presentations, are dangerous, as they can lead to rupture of the thin-walled veins of the meninges. The failure to find macroscopic hemorrhages in the brain at autopsy does not yet resolve the issue of the absence of in this case injuries. In this regard, a definitive conclusion requires a subtle histological examination, in which the accumulation of fat in the glial cells is detected, which indicates regressive changes as a result of cranial trauma with hemorrhage. A few authors consider these findings to be a physiological phenomenon, attributing them to myelogenesis.

Not all cases of cerebral hemorrhage depend only on the spatial relationship between the baby's head and the mother's pelvis or on the duration of labor. A large number of intrauterine hemorrhages are observed in premature infants, a significant role in this is played by the fragility of blood vessels and high permeability of capillaries. Important role, in addition to trauma, belongs to asphyxia, which is closely related to circulatory disorders from numerous reasons stated above. Poek (Roesk) explains the mechanism of hemorrhages due to asphyxia as follows. Compression of the umbilical cord, detachment of the placenta and other complications lead to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the baby’s blood and irritation of his vascular center. The baby’s heart begins to work harder, the delicate brain vessels cannot withstand the increased blood pressure and rupture. However, many authors believe that this hypothesis does not have sufficient grounds.

It is important to keep in mind that cerebral hemorrhage can occur as a result of differences in intrauterine and atmospheric pressure; the pole of the head protruding from the cervix is ​​subjected to atmospheric pressure, i.e. pressure of less force than the part of the head located in the uterine cavity under strong intrauterine pressure, which creates stasis in the vessels with subsequent hemorrhage [Stern, Schwarz, Reiz, Seitz et al.

During childbirth, hemorrhages may also occur in the spinal canal, which, according to research by Dodonova (1954), is one of the signs of birth trauma. The occurrence of such hemorrhages is favored by the following factors: asphyxia, which causes blood stagnation and increased permeability of the vascular wall, prolonged labor, a long anhydrous period, insufficient development of elastic fibers in the vascular wall of premature babies. These hemorrhages do not occur immediately. First, swelling of the tissue forms, then, under the influence of blood stagnation - during prolonged pathological labor - the blood supply to the vessels of the epidural tissue increases, which leads to rupture of the vessels and bleeding from them. G. Dodonova observed epidural hemorrhages in 93 cases, subdural hemorrhages in 10 cases, and a combination of subdural and epidural hemorrhages occurred in 7 cases. Subdural hemorrhages occur due to the flow of blood from the cranial cavity into the spinal cord.

An important circumstance is that ossification defects occur on the skull bones of a fully developed newborn. In shape, they are small-diameter holes with uneven edges that have shallow grooves. Ossification defects often occur in combination with bone cracks; for the most part they are located in the region of the parietal bones, less often - on the frontal bone. The bone around the holes is thinned and translucent. From a forensic medical point of view, it is important that these holes are never depressed, there are never hemorrhages around them, which distinguishes them from injuries during childbirth and from violent injuries.

It is necessary to open the skull of stillborns very carefully in order not only to find hemorrhage, but also to discover its source. If there are injuries to the skull bones during both cephalic and breech births, it is necessary to decide whether they relate to birth trauma or are the result of violent injuries inflicted later.

To give an opinion on the cause of death of a child during childbirth, it is necessary to subject the mother of the stillborn to a forensic medical examination, if she is known. From her you can get information about how the birth proceeded, whether it was the first or repeated, find out characteristics(lingering, fast, dry, heavy); in addition, you can check the capacity and structural features of her pelvis and internal genital organs.

Comparison of these data with the results of the autopsy of a stillborn can resolve the issue of the mechanism of fracture of the skull bones, the origin of cracks and other damage. Here are examples of possible options when concluding:

1. In the absence of damage to the soft surfaces of the skull and the presence of damage to the places most often traumatized by the birth act, especially on the parietal bones, we can conclude with greater or less accuracy that this is a birth injury.
2. If there are significant injuries, sometimes with traces on the skin of the head, neck, etc., and at the same time signs of extrauterine life of the fetus, it should be concluded that these injuries occurred after the birth act.
3. If fractures and cracks of the skull, such as a fracture of the base of the skull, are accompanied by damage to the skin and integument in places that are not typical for birth trauma, then when. If there are signs of extrauterine life of the fetus, it should be concluded that they are not related to the birth act.

It should be remembered that in some cases childbirth occurs in such conditions when the head hits the floor or some other hard object - a stump (during childbirth in the forest), a toilet seat, which can cause severe and fatal damage, while biological ( pulmonary, gastric, etc.) tests may be positive or unclear. The issue in these cases is resolved based on an analysis of the circumstances of the case.

Loss of pregnancy, death of a child in utero or after childbirth is a terrible experience for parents. But it is doctors who have to say that pregnancy can end early, to announce that the baby’s heart is not beating... How doctors cope with the perinatal losses of their patients, those who work in antenatal clinic, delivers babies and fights for life in the neonatal intensive care unit.

We must respect a woman's decision

Liliya Afanasyeva, head of antenatal clinic, Surgut

For women who have experienced perinatal loss, we have a psychologist and a special pregnancy preparation room in our consultation. Pregnancy losses on early stages It is not customary for specialists to regard them as perinatal losses. We also provide psychological consultations for these women, because pregnancy, even if it ended before 12 weeks, was, and often long-awaited, and its loss is not easily experienced in any case.

And women who are faced with the problem of miscarriage or its severe course go to the pre-conception preparation room. They go for examination before a new pregnancy. But they are also referred for consultation to a psychologist, because the fear of repeating an unsuccessful pregnancy remains with the woman for a long time. And if there are two or more losses, then a woman rarely gets away from this fear on her own, without help. Moreover, in approximately 50 percent of such women, threats of termination of pregnancy are caused precisely by fear.

And I see a positive effect from working with psychologists in this group of women, where there was a history of perinatal losses and difficult pregnancies. Moreover, if the doctor who is caring for the patient strongly recommends that she visit a psychologist, he sees in practice that the pregnancy is going more favourably, it is easier to find contact with the woman, and she is more responsive to the doctor’s recommendations.

A psychologist works in consultation with both doctors and nurses using the classic basics of communicating with patients.

Every loss is difficult, and those that happened recently are especially remembered. Here, relatively recently, is a young woman with an unfavorable pregnancy. From the first screening it was clear that something was wrong. The second ultrasound showed a lot of manifestations of chromosomal pathologies. The prognosis was either very early premature birth or the birth of a difficult child. The patient decided to continue the pregnancy, and labor began at almost 24 weeks. The child lived for six days.

The woman worked with a psychologist for a long time, and as part of group therapy. Now she is preparing for pregnancy and undergoing examinations. On the part of the husband’s family, the situation was then met with hostility: why did you allow someone like him to be born with defects, and did not persuade him to have an abortion. But mom is an adult and we must respect her decision.

This year we observed a woman: the third child she was carrying had a severe chromosomal pathology, and she also refused to terminate the pregnancy. After she made this decision, a psychologist worked with her throughout her pregnancy, who also talked with the family where there were other children to prepare them. We invited the husband to a joint appointment with his wife and to the ultrasound room to show and tell what this is, how it can develop and how to deal with it.

As for the future, palliative care for women who have made the choice to give birth to a child who is obviously not viable is just beginning to develop in the country, but it is important that it exists and the woman has a choice.

We still communicate with my mother, her son is three years old. At 19 weeks of pregnancy, she was offered termination of pregnancy - the child was diagnosed with an extremely severe heart defect.

She came to us from another station with the words: “I cannot kill my child.”

I said that it was up to her to decide that there was a high risk that the child would die in the first two months, and maybe even in the first, as soon as he lost contact with his mother. Again, a psychologist was present during the conversation. A pediatric cardiac surgeon also contributed, who honestly said: “Until this moment after the birth of the child, I will do everything I can. And then you will need to look for a specialist and a clinic where they can perform the following operations.”

She refused to terminate, and we began to fight for the child. While he was in utero and in the first month after birth, everything was compensated, and then the operations began. Almost up to one and a half years. First, the child was operated on several times here in Surgut. Then she traveled to Germany at the expense of a charitable foundation. Now the boy is quite cheerful, he goes to kindergarten, has virtually no restrictions. Mom is happy, she is planning a second pregnancy, she has no fear. Maybe also because there was such a collaboration and gynecologists, and a cardiac surgeon, and our psychologist. The woman did not despair, and - an important point - the family survived. It often happens that a family collapses if the problem arises of the birth of a child in serious condition.

Now I see that more and more often women refuse to have an abortion, especially if these are some minor defects that were previously offered to be terminated - they refuse with Down syndrome, with other chromosomal pathologies. But even if in this case the woman is quite positive, she needs psychological support.

We had a woman whose son was diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome - to put it simply, when a boy turns out to be a carrier of a chromosome of the opposite sex. She was offered an interruption - she refused. She was interested in how the child would develop, with what external signs. The psychologist talked to her and told her what she should prepare for.

There are also categorical women who insist on interruption where the vices are minimal. We have to work for a long time, talk about how this needs to be operated on, monitored, and rehabilitated. Unfortunately, there are patients who still say in plain text: no, I don’t need such a child. But, as a rule, there is always some problem in the family, if in such a situation the child becomes unnecessary.

When a baby is born dead, we still swaddle him

Lyudmila Khalukhaeva, obstetrician-gynecologist of the perinatal center of Ingushetia

The first time I encountered loss was when I was doing residency in Astrakhan. The woman was admitted with contractions at full term. But she had an antenatal, that is, the death of the child occurred in the womb, and when she was admitted, there was no heartbeat according to the ultrasound. This was a shock for the woman; she claimed that she felt movements. They showed her an ultrasound, called another ultrasound specialist, and only after that the woman believed it.

It happens that this happens due to the fault of the doctor. Recently there was a situation in the republic: a woman comes to give birth on her own legs, with her husband, the fourth birth, they do an ultrasound, everything is fine. And in the end - a dead child, placental abruption, removal of the uterus... The woman blames the doctor for everything, and rightly so, I say this as a doctor. If a woman comes on her own as soon as she crosses the threshold of a medical facility, the responsibility falls entirely on the obstetrician-gynecologist who is leading the woman. I am now on maternity leave, watching from the sidelines, and still shocked by this situation.

When a baby is born lifeless, we still swaddle him - after all, he is a person. Some women absolutely do not want to look at him. And some women, on the contrary, say: “Put it on me, I need to look at it.” I have been working since 2005 and I see how even a woman who refuses to look at her baby, after a day or two begins to regret that she did not look, did not say goodbye. So, based on my practice, when this happens, I tell the mother: “Look at him. He’s not scary, he looks like he’s sleeping.” Let her cry in the delivery room, let her hold him, hold him close. And then the understanding comes - there is no baby. Otherwise, some illusions may remain that prevent you from living further.

Words of reassurance often do not help. Sometimes a woman just needs to say: “I don’t know what to tell you, my dear.”

Sometimes you can tell a believing woman something about hope in the Almighty, it helps. And so, of course, a lot depends on the woman’s psyche. Some people need to cry together. It happens differently.

I had a situation, a woman was admitted with a huge belly, polyhydramnios, and she arrived with a child who had already died in the womb. The child is big, 5 kg, she has diabetes How hard it was for me to pull him out! Ten times I regretted that I did not have a caesarean, and she asked me to do a caesarean section for her. And after giving birth, she says: “It’s good that you didn’t perform an operation on me and I went through this path.”

When a woman arrives whose child’s heart no longer beats in the womb, it’s harder for her than anyone else, but she is much more able to perceive information and understand than her relatives. The hardest thing is to reassure relatives in this regard; they begin to put pressure, sometimes aggressively, to demand surgery, although sometimes it is better to have a natural birth.

Such women should not be in the wards at all with women who have given birth to live and healthy children. This is a purely organizational issue. I started my obstetric work in a maternity hospital in Kazakhstan, and if a woman’s child died, we didn’t put her in a general ward; if there were difficulties with a separate ward, we transferred her to the gynecology department. How else would it feel for her to see nursing mothers and hear children’s cries? And when I was the head of the department at the maternity hospital, we protected such women. There should still be an early discharge. If it is not possible to isolate a woman in a hospital, you can find a single room for a day or two, observe her for a couple of days, and then send her home.

We must learn simple humanity. Do not be afraid of violations of sanitary and epidemiological regulations; they are not violated because of this. We want to maintain the cleanliness of the building and in the wards, but for some reason we don’t want to maintain humanity and the purity of souls. Before you go to see an obstetrician-gynecologist, you also need to pass a humanity exam. As in all medical specialties.

We used to make a lot of mistakes and didn’t let our parents grieve.

Tatyana Maslova, head of the neonatal resuscitation and intensive care unit at the Tula Regional Perinatal Center

“Have you ever told relatives about the death of a patient? No? Let’s go study,” the head of the department told me when I just came to the intensive care unit after specialization. The woman had her second or third IVF, twins, gave birth at 26-27 weeks, one died immediately, and the second after some time. He led the conversation, and I listened, realizing that someday I would have to speak.

And for a very long time I remembered the name of the first child, who left during my independent work. Now the surname has been erased, many years have passed, but I remember his weight, gestational age - the child was more than 2 kilograms, 35 weeks, it seemed that he should not have died. But he left, and somehow with lightning speed. At that time, I myself was pregnant, heavily pregnant, I had a couple of shifts left before maternity leave... It was very difficult: after all, the feeling that you haven’t done everything still creeps in, even when you understand with your mind that the case is incurable. Then I called the head of the department - it was five in the morning, he came and let me go, he told my relatives himself, because he understood that I was in such a state that I myself could give birth prematurely.

Over the years, I realize more and more that we doctors are sorely lacking in proper communication skills. Even just for conversations with parents whose children are in intensive care. You have to learn how to talk to them through trial and error. It’s good that there are now trainings and lectures for health workers, although universities need to teach how to talk to patients...

For three years I have been the head of the neonatal intensive care unit, and reporting news to parents, including tragic ones, is my task. You have to constantly study, read, listen. Last year at the medical congress there was an entire symposium dedicated specifically to neonatal losses and communication with parents. Afterwards, I invited lecturers to come to us to conduct training for the doctors of our center. A psychologist from the Light in Hands foundation came to see us.

Now I see what we did wrong when communicating with our parents. For example, trying to calm and support with their phrases, on the contrary, they devalued their feelings and did not allow them to splash out their emotions. In order, as we thought, to hurt less, to distract, we tried to quickly inform and turn the conversation to organizational issues: burial, the process of paperwork - what to bring, where to call. That is, we did not give them time to come to their senses and grieve.

Another mistake: we, especially if we were talking about children who had been with us for some time, began to apologize to their mothers: “Sorry, we tried.” Psychologists explained that it is also not correct to apologize here - we really do what we can.

Two years ago we had a child who came to our department for observation, we transferred him to the second stage of nursing, he was supposed to be discharged in the morning. At night he was again admitted to us in extremely serious condition, with almost a single heartbeat. We performed resuscitation for an hour and a half, but it was not possible to save him. When my mother found out, she began to have a terrible hysteria - she closed her eyes and just screamed for what seemed like an eternity. Now I understand that such a reaction, on the contrary, helps to cope with pain.

Much more dangerous are quiet reactions, without emotions, when a person can calmly listen, and then leave and do something irreparable to himself.

Several times I had periods of, one might say, burnout. I understand that burnout is starting when I can’t think about anything except work and I stop sleeping. I constantly feel tired, questions arise - why all this, to whom am I trying to prove something. They arise when you try to save a child, but there is no response from either the parents or the administration. The administration says: you are the most expensive department, why are we spending money on you when we need it for this and that. Or you need to buy something for a child, but we don’t have it, we, the institution, can’t buy it, but we can’t ask the parents either - our treatment is free - like this vicious circle. You get tired of tilting at windmills, and since you can’t even switch to family affairs at home in this state, problems begin.

In such situations, I turned to a crisis psychologist, and conversations with him helped me return to a normal state, because I love my job.

We offer mothers whose children are in intensive care to talk to a psychologist, but more often they refuse: “No, am I crazy!”

If we understand that everything will end badly, we invite mothers to say goodbye. Mostly they refuse: they are scared. But after the trainings of the Charitable Foundation “Light in Hands”, I suggest you think a little more, so that later you don’t have to regret what you haven’t done. I already had a case when my mother came, having changed her mind.

It’s the same with burial, especially for children weighing less than 1 kilogram. Parents often refuse him; they want to forget everything, as if this pregnancy and this birth never happened. But I explain: “Burying does not mean that you should erect monuments, crosses and then constantly go to the grave. Psychologically, it is important for you to close this topic. Emotions that have not been internally lived and experienced will still seek a way out.” And there were several cases when parents first wrote a refusal to bury, and then, after thinking about it, called back the next morning with the words: “We changed our minds, we will bury the child.”

My husband is far from medicine, he tries to listen and support. Another thing is that we were all not taught to support and empathize. I understand that my husband wants to reassure me by saying: “You can’t save everyone, you don’t have to take everything on yourself,” but this doesn’t make my pain go away. Sometimes children get tired, angry, and say: “You only care about work.” Of course, this is not true, but my work really is such that you won’t switch off, you won’t immediately forget everything that happened there until the next shift.

But our work is, first of all, about life. And what a joy it is when you manage to pull a child through and when he goes for follow-up treatment, and then is discharged home in good condition!

Thank you Foundation "Light in Hands" for assistance in preparing the material.

Pregnant employed women have the right to take leave every time the time of birth approaches. At the same time, they are paid a benefit, since childbirth is an insured event, and the Social Insurance Fund is obliged to make payments from funds that were regularly transferred from the employee’s salary by the employer. The duration of maternity leave is determined based on the woman’s health - the birth of twins and complicated childbirth become the basis for increasing the duration of rest. But is a woman entitled to maternity leave at birth? dead child? We suggest you look into this.

The concept of maternity leave and the duration of maternity leave

Important! As a rule, the concept of “maternity leave” is understood as a combination of two leaves - for pregnancy and childbirth and for caring for a child up to 1.5 and up to 3 years. However, in the event of a stillbirth, parental leave cannot be issued, since the basis for its registration (and for receiving child care benefits) is the child’s birth certificate. Further in the article, maternity leave will be understood specifically as leave under B&R.

Maternity leave- this is sick leave, which is issued on the basis of a certificate of incapacity for work issued at the antenatal clinic and lasts from the 30th obstetric week of pregnancy (for twins and triplets - from the 28th week) until the employee’s recovery after childbirth. That is, sick leave according to BiR consists of two parts:

1. Prenatal period of maternity leave (from 70 to 90 calendar days) - the employee has the right to refuse to leave work for this time (the employer does not have the right to provide this).
2. The postpartum period of sick leave (from 70 to 110 calendar days) is the time during which a woman must be absent from work.

Important! If a woman prefers not to go on sick leave until the birth, she receives exclusively wages for the prenatal leave period. No benefits are paid during this time, and postpartum period vacation is not increased by this number of days.

If a woman decides to take full maternity leave, the total duration of sick leave according to the BiR will be:

Duration of sick leave according to BiR	In what case is such a duration established?
140 calendar days	Childbirth and pregnancy without complications and without operations. One child was born.
156 calendar days	During childbirth, complications were observed (surgery was required, there was a large loss of blood, etc.).
160 calendar days	The woman in labor constantly lives in settlements contaminated with radioactive waste.
194 calendar days	Twins, triplets and more children were born.

Let’s figure out what data is used to determine this duration of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth:

Index	Prenatal leave period according to BiR	Postpartum period of leave under BiR
Duration	70 calendar days - if pregnancy and childbirth proceeded without complications, if one child was born.	70 calendar days - if 1 child was born and there were no complications during childbirth.
	70 calendar days - if the pregnancy was difficult, or if the birth had complications (this is confirmed by additional sick leave from the maternity hospital).	70 calendar days - for women living in radioactively contaminated areas.
	84 calendar days - if several children are born at once.	86 calendar days - if the birth was complicated (caesarean section, large blood losses).
	90 calendar days - if a woman permanently resides in areas contaminated with radioactive waste.	110 calendar days - if twins were born.
Payment procedure if insurance period exceeds 6 months	100% of the average daily earnings for each day actually spent on sick leave.
Payment procedure if insurance period is less than 6 months	Based on the minimum wage (minimum wage, i.e. 11,280 rubles). This means that the minimum wage is taken as the average monthly salary. The calculation is made according to the minimum wage also in the event that the minimum wage benefit turns out to be greater than the salary benefit.
When does it start	From the 30th obstetric week of pregnancy (or from the 28th in case of multiple pregnancy).	From the day after birth
When does it end	On the day of birth	On the day of the end of the postpartum recovery period (depending on the number of children born and the presence of complications during childbirth).

Is maternity leave issued for the birth of a still child?

Important! Labor legislation does not contain instructions on the registration of maternity leave for women who have a stillborn child.

Whether a woman is entitled to maternity leave for the birth of a stillborn child or not depends on the circumstances:

Situation with pregnancy and childbirth	Is leave issued under BiR?
The woman refused prenatal maternity leave, after which the child was stillborn.	The woman will retain the right to postpartum maternity leave and to benefits for all days of this period (70 days or 86 days if the birth was complicated).
The employee managed to apply for sick leave under the Labor and Social Work Act and receive the corresponding benefits.	The woman will be able to go to work after the expiration of the certificate of incapacity for work. Benefits are not recalculated.
The child was stillborn before maternity leave was taken out and before benefits were received.	Sick leave is issued only for the period of incapacity for work, as in the general case (at least 3 calendar days). The usual sick leave benefit is paid, not in the amount of the B&R benefit.
The child was born alive before maternity leave was issued and benefits were received, but died 6 days (or more) after birth.	The employee is issued sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth for a duration of 156 calendar days, as in the case of complicated childbirth. BiR benefits are paid.

“The other day, a woman, Anastasia, came in for a consultation; she underwent emergency surgery at the 28th obstetric week of pregnancy. C-section, after which they were given out in the maternity hospital sick leave, designed for 156 calendar days. However, the child died 8 days after birth. The woman wanted to be sure that she had the right not to show up for work for 156 days and still receive maternity benefits. Indeed, a Caesarean section indicates the presence of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, and therefore sick leave is issued for a period of 156 days (70 days before the birth of the child, 86 after, due to complicated childbirth). According to the text of paragraph 49 of the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated June 29, 2011 No. 624n and paragraph 1 of Art. 10 of Federal Law No. 255-FZ of December 29, 2006, a certificate of incapacity for work must be issued by the maternity hospital, since childbirth occurred between 22 and 30 obstetric weeks pregnancy, while the benefit is paid to the insured woman in total for the entire period of sick leave. In connection with all of the above, the employer does not have the right to refuse maternity leave and payment of benefits on the grounds that the child has died - the woman has the right to sick leave and payments if she presents an application and a certificate of incapacity for work.”

Stepanova Tatyana Stanislavovna, lawyer, St. Petersburg

How is maternity benefit calculated in general?

Calculation of maternity benefits can be made based on wages employee (if her insurance experience is more than 6 months) or according to the minimum wage (if her insurance experience is less than 3 months):

• To calculate wages, the size of the maximum insurance base for calculating insurance premiums is taken into account (this is the maximum possible amount of deduction to the Social Insurance Fund from the salaries of employees of the Russian Federation), as well as the amount of total income for the 2 years preceding the decree (in 2020 - this is 2017 and 2018 ( from January 1 to December 31), but they can be replaced for earlier years if this ultimately increases the amount of the benefit);
• to calculate the minimum wage benefit, the employee’s average monthly income is taken to be equal to 1 minimum wage.

So, let’s look at the maximum insurance base for calculating contributions to the Social Insurance Fund:

• in 2017 - 755 thousand rubles (that is, the maximum average daily earnings in 2017 will be calculated from this amount);
• in 2018 - 815 thousand rubles (based on this amount, the maximum SDZ in 2018 will be calculated).

Let's calculate the maximum possible average daily earnings, which is taken into account when calculating the amount of maternity benefits:

MSDZ = SMBNSV: 730,

where MSDZ is the maximum average daily earnings;

SMBNSV - the sum of the maximum bases for calculating insurance premiums (for two years preceding the decree);

730 is the number of calendar days in a non-leap year.

MSDZ = (755,000 rub. + 815,000 rub.) : 730 days. = 2150 rubles 68 kopecks.

PBiR = SDZ x KDO,

PBiR - maternity benefit;

SDZ is a woman’s average daily earnings, calculated based on income for the 2 years preceding maternity leave;

KDO - number of vacation days.

Now, based on the obtained value, we can calculate the amount of the maximum maternity benefit, which cannot be larger than that, even if the woman receives a large salary.

Maximum amount of maternity benefit (maternity leave for stillbirth)

If a woman has managed to take maternity leave, she is entitled to 156 calendar days of leave (70 before childbirth and 86 after, in connection with complicated childbirth) or 160 calendar days of leave (90 days before childbirth and 70 after), if a woman lives in Chernobyl. It turns out that maximum size maternity benefit in the event of the death of the baby will be:

Minimum amount of maternity benefit (maternity leave for stillbirth)

If a woman has a small salary, or she has not accumulated an insurance period that would exceed six months, the B&R benefit is calculated based on the minimum wage according to the following formula:

PBiR = minimum wage x 24 months. : 730 days

RUB 11,280 x 24 months : 730 days = 370 rubles 84 kopecks

Now let's calculate minimum size maternity benefits for the general case and for women from Chernobyl:

Index	For women in general	For women living in areas contaminated by radiation
Duration of vacation	140 calendar days	160 calendar days
Maximum Benefit Calculation	RUB 370.84 x 140 days	RUB 370.84 x 160 days
The size of the maximum benefit for BiR	51,918 rubles 90 kopecks	59,335 rubles 89 kopecks

What other payments are due if maternity leave is issued for the birth of a still child?

Since one-time and monthly child benefits are issued on the basis of a child’s birth (adoption) certificate, the condition for the birth of a living baby is mandatory. Accordingly, when a woman has a dead child, lump sum allowance at the birth of a child and monthly allowance She is not entitled to care for a child under 1.5 and under 3 years of age.

However, if childbirth occurs later than the 196th day of pregnancy, and a stillborn baby is born, the employer is obliged to issue the employee another social payment- funeral benefit in the amount of 5,562 rubles 25 kopecks.

- Mom checked out. What condition is she in? What kind of help and information should she seek?

- The condition can be very different. At first it is usually a shock, then a search for those to blame. Psychologists distinguish several stages in the experience, but in reality they do not always pass gradually, as in the book - sometimes everything comes at once.

This can be anger and rage, very often a feeling of guilt, it can be a desire to protect oneself, or a feeling of helplessness. There may be physical symptoms - a feeling that everything is compressed in the chest and you are suffocating, loss of sleep. For example, after the incident, my husband and I did not sleep for three nights, and when on the fourth night I began to fall asleep, I woke up, discovered that it was not a dream, and seemed to be confronted with reality all over again. And a stream of tears and disbelief in what had happened began.

And the worst thing is what both a woman and her husband often get stuck in - a feeling of guilt. This is the most terrible trap that people fall into, because it corrodes their soul and body.

In order to cope with this, we need psychologists or spirituality, faith.

That is, a woman after childbirth needs to take care of her emotions. Some women, after what happened, have a desire to constantly talk about what happened. Some people don't have this desire. And the most important support that others can provide in this situation is to let the woman and her husband understand that they are not alone, that there are people around them who care.

If you suddenly find yourself a relative of such a family, just let them know in any way that they can count on your help.

Because the worst thing that people do in our country who really don’t like to deal with the topic of grief and loss is simply ignore such a family because they don’t know how to react to it. As a result, parents find themselves isolated - this is terrible.

If mom wants to talk about what happened, she needs to find someone she can talk to. This allows you to relieve internal tension. In this situation, I want to talk about the same thing over and over again. Therefore, one of the primary tasks of our foundation is to create "parent groups" in different cities, so that parents can talk about what happened, what they feel, be accepted completely, along with all their experiences, and see that they are not the only ones who find themselves in such a situation, experience such feelings.

Our psychologists help remotely

Photo from verywell.com

- By the way, about help. We have very few psychologists who specialize in the topic of loss. It turns out that some women will be far from the specialist simply geographically. What to do in this situation?

— Women from different corners Russia, and our psychologists help remotely. So, despite the remoteness, help is possible. It is important to note that there are indeed very few psychologists who know how to work with the topic of perinatal loss.

And if you decide to contact a specialist yourself, be sure to inquire about his education and experience in this particular area.

It is very important that after a perinatal loss, the members of such a family (because in fact, not only the woman suffers, the father is also very worried about the death of the child) have a desire to live. Sometimes there is either a desire to withdraw into oneself and into an endless search for someone to blame, and this destroys both the physical body and the feeling of joy in life. Or the thought still arises: “I want to live,” and then it is possible to take care of one’s own physical body, working with your psychological mood, with emotions.

If a woman, her husband or one of the other relatives who are acutely experiencing the situation of perinatal loss (grandparents) decide to live, even if this is still very difficult to do, they can always call our foundation, and we will always find a specialist , who will try to work with them, support and help.

That is, the best thing in this situation is to look for a psychologist, or at least a parental support group, but there are still very few of them. We have already begun work to ensure that every maternity hospital in our country has a psychologist specially trained in how to work in such situations. But this is a perspective. For now universal solution for any corner of the country - by contacting our fund.

Allow yourself to grieve and ask for help

Photo from verywell.com

—Where does the desire to live come from?

— Good question. It's probably different for everyone. It seems to me that there is no single answer. For me it was my family and love for my husband and children.

When, ten days after giving birth, I was admitted to the hospital with bleeding, I realized that I had taken a wrong turn; it felt like I didn’t choose to “live.” And then I realized that something was wrong, there was a feeling that I was completely destroyed - physically, emotionally, and mentally. And I gradually began to tune myself into a positive mood - doing exercises, going for walks. Of course, it was difficult to be happy; I tried to find reasons for positive emotions.

At this moment it is very important to feel your needs and ask for help.

For example, my husband and I realized that it is difficult for our children to be around us because I cry a lot. And we asked our friend to go to the cinema with them.

As a result, we had time to talk, realizing that the children do not see all this and continue to live normally. This is already a small but positive emotion.

We decided to go on a short trip to St. Petersburg. Yes, now, a year later, we don’t remember what happened on this trip, but it pulled us out of the place where it all happened, from the emotions that accompanied it. My sister lived with us for two months, she looked after the children, cooked and cleaned - this also supported us very much, because we had no strength. daily life not enough.

That is, the main thing is to allow yourself to grieve - to release the emotions that you are experiencing, to allow yourself isolation or communication. And asking, asking, asking for help is okay. When they know how to help, people, as a rule, willingly respond and leave such a family in isolation simply because they do not know how to help. The best thing parents can do for themselves in such a situation is to directly say what help they need now.

Choose people to communicate with

Photo from psychcentral.com

— How to build relationships with relatives at this moment so as not to hurt them, get help and not come across a lesson on how to live or a stream of someone’s own, difficult, but probably not very appropriate memories in this situation?

“You have to allow yourself to be uncomfortable and choose people to communicate with.” And remember that people often say phrases that hurt us very much in order to support us; they just don't know how to do it any other way. If he says so close person, you can try to simply explain to him: “This hurts me, let’s better keep quiet.” Or: “Now I would like to tell you more about how it was for me.” That is, be honest.

If a person does not hear or continues his song, I would recommend stopping communicating with him for now.

Because the most important thing now is not to try to calm everyone around and be good for them, but to take care of yourself. This is the best thing you can do for yourself, for your husband, present and future children.

— How to build a relationship with your husband? How can we get out of the situation and enter into a future relationship without associating each other with this grief?

— A situation like this is a reason to either gain even greater intimacy with your husband, or to understand that there really is no intimacy. And then you can either continue to work and create it, or admit that nothing is working out.

My husband and I are very lucky: we always talk through our emotions and feelings to each other, and do not each silently dwell on our own experiences. It is important that a man and a woman, firstly, be willing to be sincere with each other. That is, you tell your husband “what’s happening to me, what I’m thinking, what I’m feeling, what I’m afraid of.” And your partner is ready to listen to all this without criticism, without judgment, without discerning whether these feelings are “right” or “wrong.” This was the case in our situation.

I know that many men prefer to close the story of the death of a child like a closet door and move on with their lives, pretending that nothing happened. I know many women who, in this situation, found support from their mother, friend, or psychologist, with whom they could ventilate their emotions, this also helps to maintain relationships. Because the husband may have a different stage, a different form of experience. And maybe a little time will pass, or maybe a lot, when he himself will be ready to get in touch with his pain and release it. The most important thing here is not to blame each other, not to make claims, but to be honest with your partner, talking about what is happening to me.

At the same time, you need to take it as an axiom: “Don’t look for the guilty, because there are none!” Guilt is the biggest trap you can fall into here.

I also spent a long time looking for mistakes that led me to the result I got.

And in the end, I learned to admit that at every moment I made the best decision, using all my knowledge, all my experience for the benefit of this child. And I know the same about my husband. Now, based on current experience, our decisions might have been different, but then they were exactly like that.

Our mind really wants to get the illusion that it is the ruler of the world, and that if it knows a lot, or better yet, everything, then we will probably be immortal.

But this is precisely a huge trap for the mind, because people want to be, I would call it, gods, to rule this world entirely. But that's not true. Life is a process, and we are people and we gain experiences. When we decide to give birth to a child for the first time, it is a discovery for us because we have not had such an experience. And the same thing happens with every action in our life: going into the past, it becomes an experience on the basis of which we, perhaps, would have decided something differently.

But at that moment, when something happened, any responsible decision we made was the best one we could make. And when it passes, it’s just an experience. So what's the point of blaming yourself? And we can choose - to be angry at this experience or to take into later life the valuable things that it brought us.

The fund helps the whole family

— After how long and how to contact the outside world?

- This will also be individual for each person. It is important for a woman, first of all, to recover physically after childbirth, and in no case take on emotional and physical stress before recovery, because this will have a bad effect on her future.

If we talk about contacts, many saw that you were expecting a child, preparing for childbirth, and they will ask: “When did you give birth, and what was your name?” You need to be prepared to answer such questions.

It was easier for me to answer the truth: “I gave birth to a boy. They named him Yegor. And he died in childbirth."

I just memorized these few phrases, it hurt me to say them every time, but this way I released the sadness that lived in me.

For some, it may be easier to remain silent or postpone this conversation. For example, I say that now I have three children, but one has died, and I’m not afraid of hurting those around me. Everything is individual.

— How will the foundation’s materials help with all this?

— Fund materials are intended for different people. For parents, we have instructions on how to create a child’s history, legal advice related to funerals, including, among other things, receiving compensation for the funeral.

There is a brochure for friends, family and grandparents about how parents feel in this situation and how to support them.

There is even a brochure for employers and a brochure on how to return to work as a survivor of perinatal death.

There is a brochure that helps in supporting older children - what to say about the death of a baby, how to behave with them.

After all, children also feel very subtly the state of their parents, and there are tips on what and how to talk to them by age.

There is a brochure dedicated to intrauterine death.

That is, we see ourselves in this case as a source of information and powerful psychological support, which each person who contacts us receives individually. We are continuing to produce more resources to support people through perinatal loss. We are preparing materials for maternity hospital staff that can help them when faced with the situation of perinatal loss of their patient and protecting them from emotional burnout.

In the future, we would also like to influence the development of the healthcare system so that the three words that a midwife says to a mother whose child has died in childbirth will warm her heart, rather than destroy what remains of it.

We plan to organize international conferences to exchange experience between specialists and conduct research to reduce the number of stillborn children. At the moment, research of this kind is not being conducted in our country. I think this is important.

Article current as of: March 2020

Opportunity to get maternal capital after the death of one or more children depends on the circumstances, in particular on time of death. This condition will determine which document will be issued to the parents - a birth and death certificate or a document confirming the child was stillborn.

For children who were stillborn, a birth certificate not issued. Since this mandatory document to obtain a personal certificate, get maternity capital in this case will not work. However, if the newborn dies during the first week, then the parents will receive a birth and death certificate.

To obtain a state certificate for maternity capital (MK), you must contact the department Pension Fund Russia. Basic documents which must be submitted along with the application:

• applicant's passport;
• document confirming the birth (adoption) of children.

Is maternity capital due if the first or second child dies?

If after the death of the first If a woman gives birth to a child (for whom a birth certificate was received) or adopts a second one, then she has the right to register maternity capital. However, if the first or second child died in childbirth, then to the parents no certificate will be issued about birth. Without it, get a certificate for MK impossible.

Even both children died, but at the same time the parents have Required documents(including birth certificates) to receive maternity capital, then the mother also has the right to issue a certificate, since the right to family capital arises with the birth (adoption) of a second or subsequent child.

However, according to Part 2 of Art. 3 of Federal Law No. 256-FZ of December 29, 2006 about supporting families with children, upon confirmation of the right to maternal capital children are not included, in relation to which:

• the recipient of maternity capital was deprived parental rights A;
• the adoption was cancelled;
• at the time of adoption of a child, the woman was already his stepmother or the man (the only adoptive parent) was his stepfather.

Is maternity capital required if the child is stillborn?

If the second (subsequent) child was stillborn, then the certificate for maternity capital is not provided, since in this case a birth certificate cannot be issued.

The procedure for registering stillborn children is established by Art. 20 of Federal Law No. 143-FZ of November 15, 1997 “On acts of civil status”:

1. Registration is based on perinatal death document issued by a medical organization or an individual entrepreneur engaged in medical activities.
2. Relevant Statement submitted to the registry office the head of the organization in which the birth took place or an individual entrepreneur carrying out this type of activity. The application must be submitted within three days after the fact of death has been established.

Do they give maternity capital if the child has lived for a week?

If the child died during the first week life, then the family can still apply for a certificate for maternity capital, since in this case the birth certificate is provided in the usual manner. To register family capital, you must obtain it from the registry office relevant evidence and, together with the rest of the package of documents, submit them to the Pension Fund branch.

The decision to issue a state certificate or to refuse it is made within 15 days. The reason for refusal may be:

• lack of right to family capital;
• providing false information;
• termination of the right to additional measures state support on the grounds provided for in parts 3, 4 and 6 of Art. 3 Federal Law No. 256 of December 29, 2006, as well as in connection with the use of MK funds in full.

Is it possible to register maternity capital for a deceased child?

Infant mortality in the Russian Federation has decreased significantly by 2018. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to completely eliminate these tragic statistics in the near future. Accordingly, the relevance of the issue of maternity capital for a deceased child will remain throughout the duration of the social program.

Is it possible to obtain maternity capital if a child dies?

The main condition for registration of maternity capital is the child’s birth certificate. What if the baby died during childbirth or in the first week of life? What to do in such a situation and can the mother count on receiving federal benefits in such cases? Let's try to answer these questions.

According to Art. 3 of the same law, every Russian woman who has given birth to or adopted a second child has the right to count on state support. That is, the fact of birth is the basis for applying for financial assistance. It is worth noting that there is no mention of a deceased baby in the entire text of the law.

Only one document can prove the existence of a baby - a birth certificate. On this basis, until 2010, the Pension Fund repeatedly refused to provide a certificate for maternity capital in the event of the death of a newborn. But after the intervention of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, this practice was stopped. And before that district courts willingly took the side of the Pension Fund of Russia, but subsequently the decisions were appealed by the families to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

In the event of the death of a child, the father also has the right to apply for maternity capital if he is the only parent. In addition, the official adoptive parent has powers equal to those of the parents. The guardian does not have such rights.

According to accepted document flow standards, the applicant for maternity capital provides the Pension Fund with birth certificates for both children and fills out an application. If the death of a child took place, then a certificate of his death must be provided. Otherwise, you can fall under Art. 6 of Law No. 256-FZ “Inaccurate information”, and the application will not be considered.

Based on Art. 5 of Law No. 256-FZ, the state has the right to reject an application for maternity capital if the applicants have been deprived of parental rights or the adoption decision has been cancelled. It is worth adding that stepfathers and stepmothers who have not adopted children also do not have the right to issue a certificate.

If the parents received a birth certificate in their hands, and the baby died suddenly, then by law they are required to hand over the previously issued document. In return, a death certificate will be issued. In this case, the parents are left with the legal requirement to contact the Pension Fund. To do this, you must attach a certificate from the registry office to the death certificate, which will indicate that the baby was actually born or adopted. In this manner, the legality of the appeal will be respected.

Death of an infant during childbirth

The birth of a stillborn baby makes it impossible to provide maternity capital. The fact is that a birth certificate will not be issued under such circumstances. It is provided at the civil registry office upon presentation of a certificate from a medical institution confirming the fact of birth.

Death of an infant in the first week of life

Law No. 143-FZ “On Civil Status Acts” until July 1, 2010 did not provide for the issuance of a birth certificate for infants in the first week of life. This provision served as a reason for the refusal of applicants for maternity capital from the Pension Fund.

Timely amendments dated July 28, 2010 allowed parents whose baby died in the first week of life to apply to the registry office for a certificate of birth. The issued document is attached to the death certificate, and the procedure for providing the certificate follows the general rules.

As soon as the parents or guardians have a certificate of the baby’s civil status, they can apply for maternity capital. Applicants must provide to the Pension Fund:

• civil passports of the father and mother of the deceased child;
• birth certificates of all children;
• death certificate of the baby and a certificate from the registry office confirming the fact of his birth;
• court order on adoption;
• SNILS/INN.

It is worth considering that the death of an infant is not an unconditional circumstance for the issuance of maternity capital. The state reserves the right to refuse applicants if the child died due to the fault of the parents, through intentional actions or negligent fulfillment of parental obligations. These facts are easily established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with further criminal prosecution.

If all of the parents’ children died, then the right to register maternity capital still remains with them. In this case, applicants will have to work on collecting evidence, which will document activities aimed at raising children. Then you should submit a complete package of documents to the Pension Fund for review.

Controversial situations

Controversial issues may arise directly during childbirth. For example, did the child come to us alive or dead? Depending on the variation in circumstances, the mother will receive a certain type of certificate from the maternity hospital. If the baby has lived for several hours, then it is not difficult to establish the fact of his birth alive and the parents find themselves in a certain legal field. But when death occurs precisely at the moment of birth, what happens next depends on the medical personnel, who record the circumstances of the tragedy.

The responsibility of the medical staff receiving the fetus from women in labor includes a medical examination of the signs of life in the newborn at the time of birth. All parameters are displayed in medical documents. If there is a dispute about the moment of death, further proceedings take place in court with the necessary examinations. If the fact of the baby’s death after birth is proven, then a civil status act can be issued at the registry office.

How to challenge the refusal of the Pension Fund of Russia?

An unreasonable, in the opinion of the applicant, refusal of the Pension Fund to provide a certificate can be challenged. First, you should file a complaint with the Pension Fund branch where the appeal took place. But more effective method- apply to court with an administrative claim filed on the basis of the CAS of the Russian Federation. Thus, applicants have a greater chance of challenging the decision of the Pension Fund and forcibly restoring the right to receive maternity capital.

The body of the claim must contain the basis for the lawful demand for the MSK certificate. The judge will accept the side that has convincing arguments and relevant evidence. Office statistics on this issue are in favor of parents, subject to indisputable facts about the presence of children. But the main thing is qualified assistance lawyer in administrative practice.

Conclusion

The government took a relatively noble and extremely honest position. Mothers who have lost their child experience devastation and depression. Consent to issue maternity capital under such tragic conditions allows women to feel moral support from the authorities. It’s nice to know that mothers’ rights can be defended in court if the Pension Fund of Russia refuses to issue a certificate.

Is maternity capital required if the child dies?

Is maternity capital provided if a child dies? The answer to the question posed is ambiguous. It depends on certain circumstances: whether the baby died after birth or was stillborn.

What the law says

Previously, if a child died, maternity capital was not paid.

The main thing is the very fact of the birth of a certain number of children in a period of time determined by law.

Another snag was the need to provide birth certificates for all children before 2010. Until this time, when a baby died in the first week of life, only a death certificate was issued, and a birth certificate was not issued. In 2010, the law on civil status acts was amended.

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Important! As a result, it is now possible to obtain a birth certificate for a baby who died in the 1st week of life. This means submitting this document to the Pension Fund.

What documents are needed

When applying for a maternity certificate, you must provide birth certificates for all children. If you have such documents, there will be no problems with obtaining a certificate.

Maternity capital, if the first child dies for some reason in the first week of life, is paid under the same conditions. For them, the civil registry office is required to issue a birth certificate. Naturally, this does not happen automatically, but according to a joint parental application. Just like in normal situations.

Important! If the registry office employees for some reason refuse to issue a birth certificate for a baby who died in the first week of his life, this is unlawful.

You need to appeal their actions to the prosecutor's office or to court.

If the baby is stillborn, the civil registry office will not be able to issue him a birth certificate. In accordance with the federal law “On Civil Status Acts”, a birth certificate for a child born still is not issued. At the request of the parents, a document is issued confirming the fact of state registration of the birth of a stillborn child. Thus, as for stillborn children, the listed rules of law do not apply to them. Because a birth certificate is definitely not issued here.

What does the RF Armed Forces explain?

Here is the main position of the Supreme Court on this matter:

Ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 26, 2009. When resolving controversial issues, courts proceed from the actual birth of 2 children.

Resolution of June 18, 2010. A woman, having actually given birth to 2 children, acquired the right to family capital.

The absence of a birth certificate for one of the children and the fact of their death/biological death in the 1st week of life is a circumstance that does not prevent one from obtaining a certificate.

Latest information from the Russian Pension Fund

Here is what is currently posted on the PFR website:

The legal nuances of obtaining/exercising parental rights to family capital upon the death of one or more children have long been controversial issues.

Since assistance to family people under the state program was intended to ensure the necessary standard of living for families with several children (if you do not go into legal subtleties).

The death of babies does not in itself cancel the legal and biological fact of their birth. This means that it does not detract from the legal connection of emerging rights to family payments with this fact.

In the early years of the implementation of the demographic stimulation program (it started in 2007), when law enforcement had not yet been regulated, there were frequent lawsuits. Because parents went to court after unlawful refusals by Pension Fund employees. It was specifically about the death of children.

IN this moment In time, such failures are extremely rare. But still sometimes they happen. Most often for subjective reasons.

Attention! If the issuance of a certificate or its so-called “cashing out” is refused due to the death of one of the children, then such a refusal is unlawful.

We describe typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique and requires individual legal assistance.

To quickly resolve your problem, we recommend contacting qualified lawyers of our site.

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