A young couple are worried that their newborn daughter will be forced to grow up under the wrong sex as she was mistakenly registered as male.

Parents Grace Bingham, 20, and Ewan Murray, 21 from Kirkby, Nottinghamshire have struggled to get authorities to rectify baby Lilah’s birth certificate after she was listed as a male.


It took the first-time parents five weeks to spot the mistake, although Bingham said she checked the document at the time it was signed.

She said lack of sleep may have played a role in not noticing it sooner:

stock image of birth certificate

The baby girl was registered as male

Getty

“As first-time parents, we were very excited and, admittedly, a bit overwhelmed – especially due to the lack of sleep,” she told the Mansfield and Ashfield Chad.

“We focused on ensuring that all the names were spelled correctly and didn’t expect such a professional error.”

It is remains unknown how the mistake occurred, with the couple still trying to get to the bottom of things.

They were told initially by the Sutton-in-Ashfield registration office in Nottinghamshire that it would only cost them £99 to rectify the certificate.

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However, Lilah’s certificate, even if fixed, would contain an asterisk noting that her sex was “changed” to female.

They have unsuccessfully attempted to amend the records, even after getting in touch with the national registration chiefs.

The situation has left the first-time mother extremely upset and constantly crying.

The new mother said she is worried that her daughter will be considered transgender if the mistake is not resolved.

A baby's feet

The mother says the system has failed them

PA

“It’s unfair for her birth certificate to say male, which could negatively impact her in various aspects of life, such as school, jobs, and relationships – due to a mistake that is not her fault,” she said.

Bingham said she wants to bring more attention to her situation: “We feel wronged by the system regarding this error, and the only way to properly address it seems to be by bringing it to parliament’s attention.”

Mark Walker, service director for place and communities at Nottinghamshire County Council said: “We are very sorry for any distress caused by this error and will pay for the correction fee.”

He added that they are continuously supporting the family throughout this process.