Why joint birth registration?
The characteristics of those who register births solely are significantly different from those where both parents appear on the birth certificate. Research shows that sole registered births are much more common among younger mothers and particularly common for those who gave birth under the age of 21. Sole registrant mothers are more likely to be poor and have low levels of educational achievement. There were indicators of poor health related outcomes for sole registrants and their children. Among those who had not received any antenatal care, some 18 per cent of mothers had registered the birth without the father. This was three times as high as for mothers who had received some antenatal care.
