Maternity Nursing.

The Registration of births

and deaths in Jamaica
Teacher: Mrs. E. Samuels Bailey
Presented by Group 1
Group members:
Ashley-Jade Anderson
Erica Atkinson
Sue-Ann Bennett-Drummond
D'Jouney Brown Jones
 Objectives
At the end of this 30 minutes presentation students will
be able to:
● Define Maternity nursing
● explain Maternity Nursing in Jamaica
● state the historical perspectives in maternity nursing
in Jamaica
● state what is registration of births
● state what is registration of deaths
● outline the process of birth and death registration in
Jamaica
 What is Maternity Nursing
• Maternity nursing is where skilled professionals supports,
cares for and teaches expectant parents how to care for their
newborn.
• Maternity nurses care for women experiencing complications
before birth and during the postpartum period.
• Maternity Nurses are trained to identify complication in the
antenatal, intranatal and postnatal period and refer mothers
accordingly.
•(Ballard, 2018)
 Maternity Nursing in Jamaica
● In the villages, the nana is a person with wisdom and authority. This wisdom was
passed down through years of experience and family apprenticeship, from mother to
daughter.
● The nana is an extension of the mother.
● She is present throughout a young woman’s transition from conception to birth,
animating the rebirth of the woman as a mother through rituals. Jamaican nanas
usually stay with mothers for nine days after they had delivered their child.
● She would inform the mother of ways to avoid postpartum complications.
 Maternity nursing in Jamaica con’d

● Her wisdom was actively silenced by British colonial sentiments and policy
eradicating their role under the guise of public health initiatives. When the shipments
of enslaved people decreased, colonial plantation owners became more invested in
the reproduction of the Jamaican population.
● 1867–1874 showed development of public health laws and regulations in the wake of
cholera and smallpox epidemics. To decrease the vectors of disease, the colonial
government funded training of “respectable women of good character” to fill the
roles of healthcare practitioners in hospitals.
 Maternity nursing in Jamaica con’d

● British officials generated policy that extended hospital duties to include birth
attendance, which discredited home deliveries and eradicated the indigenous
practices of the nana by pushing the medicalization of birth and the biomedical
authority of knowledge of wellbeing.
● Women were convinced of the legitimacy and superiority of knowledge by the
colonial government. There was a complete transition from the respect of the nana to
neglecting her knowledge in favor of the medical assistance of nurse midwives.
 Maternity nursing in Jamaica con’d

● Birth became a life event that required medical attention.

● Mothers began to turn to community midwives that were trained in basic obstetric care
and to refer patients to hospitals.
● When they were far enough along to deliver, the mothers would be assisted by hospital
nurse midwives.
 Maternity nursing in Jamaica con’d
● Formalized training and legal regulation of midwives’ are linked to the establishment
of the Lying-In Hospital in Kingston and the renaming of the Lying-In Hospital to the
Victoria Jubilee Hospital in rememberance of Queen Victoria’s jubilee in 1892.

● Changes associated with recommendations from British Parliamentary investigations

on the demographic, sociopolitical and government strategies to address the problem
of high infant and maternal mortality rate and to merge maternal and child health into
the primary health system.
 Maternity nursing in Jamaica con’d
● The development of maternal health care in Jamaica is based on the increasing cases
of maternal mortality.
● the rate was influenced by a number of factors including social and political factors.
● Modern maternity services began with the 1887 establishment of the Victoria Jubilee
Hospital and Midwifery School.
● Community midwives were deployed widely by the 1930s and community antenatal
care expanded in the 1950s.
● Social policies in the 1970s increased women's access to primary health care,
education and social support; improved transportation in the 1990s facilitated
hospital delivery.
 Maternity Nursing in Jamaica
● due to the implementation of maternity services in Jamaica maternal mortality
declined rapidly from approximately 600/100 000 in the 1930s to 200/100 000 in
1960, led by a 69% decline in sepsis by 1950, and a 72% decline from all causes
thereafter, settling at approximately 100/100 000 in the 1980s.
● Skilled birth attendant deliveries moved from 39% in 1950 to 95% in 2001 and
hospital births from 31% in 1960 to 91% in 2001.
● Maternal mortality plateaued at 70-80% prevalence of skilled delivery care.
Deployment of midwives into rural communities and social development focused on
women and children were associated with the observed improvements.
Registration of births in Jamaica

Every birth that occurs in Jamaica must be registered with the Registrar General’s
Department (RGD). This affords the individual the right to an official identity and
nationality. Jamaican law dictates that registration be done within the first six weeks of the
birth.
The Registration Process:
 Registration Of Births cont’d
● Registrations are to be done at hospitals and birthing centres following delivery. This
is referred to as bedside registration, and is done before the mother and child leave
the hospital or birthing centre at a cost of $200. Registration officers to record the
details of the birth – such as the mother’s name, the date of the birth, and the medical
professional who assisted the birth. The parent(s) of the child are required to provide
the child’s name and their particulars – such as occupation(s) and age(s) – to the
officer, who fills out a birth registration form. Children named at the hospital are
entitled to a free copy of their birth certificate, except if a change is made to any
particular afterwards.
Registration of Births in Jamaica cont’d
 Registration of Births in Jamaica cont’d
Births that occur outside of a hospital or birthing centre should be registered by
the parent(s) of the child, a relative, or a person who was present at the time
of the birth. Such a person should visit an RGD office to give the
information required to complete the registration process.
● All births must be registered in the district in which they occurred. When a
birth is registered, it is given a Birth Entry Number. This is an exclusive
number that is used to identify each child’s birth registration record.
 Registration of Deaths in Jamaica

By law all deaths should be registered within five days, unless the Coroner is
probing the death, and no later than 12 months. If a death is not registered within
12 months, the permission of the Registrar General is needed to conduct a Late
Registration of Death.
 Registration of Deaths in Jamaica
● The registration process is dependent upon the type of death. Deaths are classified as
natural, sudden, or violent.
● Natural – where the deceased was under the care of a medical doctor in the three
months prior and where the cause of death is not under any reasonable doubt by the
medical doctor.
● Sudden – where the deceased was not under the care of a medical doctor in the final
three months of death and/or whose cause of death is under suspicion of foul play.
● Violent – deaths that occur under violent circumstances, such as homicides and
suicides.
 Registration of Deaths
If a person dies of natural causes at home:
● Report the death to the police
● Visit the last doctor to examine the deceased (at least three months
before the death.) The physician will complete and sign a Medical
Certificate of the Cause of Death
● The Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death should then be taken to
the Local District Registrar (LDR) where the death will be registered.
● At the LDR the person responsible for the burial may then complete the
application form for the death certificate, and pay a fee of $850.
● The death certificate will be sent to the family member’s address within
six weeks.
 Registration of Deaths
If a person dies of natural causes in a hospital:
● After a death occurs in the hospital, the attending physician completes and signs a
Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death.
● The Medical Certificate will be issued to a relative or the person responsible for the
burial, and that person must take it to the LDR, where the death will be registered.
● At the LDR the person responsible for the burial may then complete the application
form for the death certificate, and pay a fee of $850.
● The death certificate will be sent to the family members address within six weeks.
 Registration of Deaths
In the Case of Sudden or Violent Deaths:
● An autopsy will be required and will be ordered by a police officer
● After the autopsy is completed the police officer will issue the Burial Order to the
person responsible for burial.
● The police will then deliver the autopsy signed by the Pathologist or Medical Doctor
to the Coroner’s Court.
● The person responsible for burial may then request a Certificate of Coroner (Form D)
from the Coroners Court, which is to be taken to the LDR and used to register the
death.
● At the LDR the person responsible for the burial may then complete the application
form for the death certificate, and pay a fee of $850.
● The death certificate will be sent to the family member’s address within six weeks
Materinal Deaths and Registration

According to Center of Disease Control (CDC) 2020.

Maternal death is defined as “the death of a woman while
pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy,”
but does not include those that were caused by
accidental/incidental. Official statistics are gathered
through certificates completed by physicians and reported
to the states.
 References

Ballard, R. (2018). Maternity Nurse:Schooling,Exams & Nursing Career Information. Innerbody. https://www.innerbody.com/careers-
in-health/how-to-become-a-maternity- nurse.html#:~:text=A%20maternity%20nurse20women%20is%29a,before%2C%20during
%20and%20after%20childbirth&text=Others%20may%20care%20fo r%20women,postpartum%20(after%20delivery)%20care.

Jamaica Information Service. (2019). Get the Facts – Registration of Births (Update). https://jis.gov.jm/information/get-the-facts/get-
the-facts-

registration-of-deaths/

Jamaica Information Service. (2019). Get the Facts – Registration of Deaths. https://jis.gov.jm/information/get-the-facts/get-the-facts-
registration-of-deaths/

National Center for Health Statistics www.cdc.govhttps://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2020/202001_MMR.htm

Vilela, A. (2018, December 11). Midwifery in Jamaica. Medium. https://medium.com/midwifery-around-the-world/midwifery-in-

jamaica-

c7bd2de7a9bc.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332326821_Blooms_and_Mushrooms_Midwifery_Experience_in_Jamaica