ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how parents define themselves once their baby is stillborn. In the 1920s, the creation of stillbirth as a legal category in the United Kingdom changed the status of a foetus more than 28 weeks gestation: from then on it was to be defined as a baby. In response to developments in neonatal medicine, which have enabled babies to survive at earlier stages of gestation, the boundary between stillbirth and miscarriage was moved to 24 weeks gestation in 1992 resulting in yet an earlier start for infant life. The recognition of legal status of the fetus as an infant before it is born extends to the legal recognition of motherhood; women whose babies die are entitled to maternity pay, free prescriptions and other welfare benefits in common with women whose babies survive. Biological parenthood is concerned with the genetic connection between parent and child, while social parenting highlights the performance of the role of mother and father.
