Visiting the NICU Admission to the NICUHow we care for your baby Neonatal surgery Developmental care Parental involvement Coping and where to get help Family journeys Parental rights and responsibilities NICU jargon buster Frequently asked questions

Having parental responsibility means that you have the right to make important decisions about your child's life in areas like medical treatment and education. But it also means that you have responsibilities. You have a duty to care for and protect your child.

 

Being a parents does not always mean you will automatically have parental responsibility, because the current law does not give responsibility to all the parents of a child. If you are married to each other then you both have parental responsibility. This is not automatically the case for unmarried parents.

According to current law, as mothers you always have parental responsibility for your child.

 

However, as fathers you only have parental responsibility if you are married to the mother when she is pregnant, and when the baby is born. Otherwise it is up to the mother to give fathers parental responsibility. Parental responsibility does not always pass to the natural father if the mother dies and you are not married.

 

If as a father you do not have parental responsibility in law, then it is up to the mother to decide how much you are involved in decision-making and information sharing. It is not up to the staff within neonatal services to make these decisions.
Babies have the same rights as all other people and everybody involved in looking after a baby has a duty to do what is best for them.

 

A court can take away parental responsibility from any parent if they are not acting in the best interests of their baby. A court can then give parental responsibility to another person if this is thought to be in the best interests of the baby.