A couple fear their newborn daughter will be mistaken as transgender after she was recorded as a boy on her birth certificate.
Grace Bingham, 20, and her partner Ewan Murray, 21, had baby Lilah on October 8.
But when they came to register the birth five weeks later they were shocked to discover she had been listed as male on her birth certificate following a mistake.
Ms Bingham admitted she reviewed the certificate at the time but overlooked the mistake and signed it, attributing her oversight to a lack of sleep as a first-time mother.
But the couple has so far been unable to amend the error on five-week-old Lilah’s records despite getting in touch with national registration bosses.
Ms Bingham, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottingham, said: “It’s been a nightmare and I’ve not stopped crying since.
“As first-time parents, we were very excited and, admittedly, a bit overwhelmed – especially due to the lack of sleep.
“We focused on ensuring that all the names were spelt correctly and didn’t expect such a professional error to happen.”
The mistake happened when the pair went to register Lilah’s birth at Sutton-in-Ashfield Registration Office last Wednesday.
Mr and Ms Bingham were informed that in order to rectify the mistake, they would need to pay £99.
But Ms Bingham said she was concerned that even after correcting the error, the birth certificate would still list Lilah as male, with a small note indicating the sex was changed to female.
She said: “This could cause significant issues for our daughter throughout her life, as it would imply she is transgender when she is biologically female. If she chooses to identify differently later in life, that is her decision. But at just five weeks old, she cannot make that choice.
“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.”
Mr Bingham added: “We don’t want sympathy, we don’t want our 15 minutes of fame, we just want to correct what’s happened.
“But it’s actually impossible to get it changed. People seem to think that it’s a really easy correction.
“But the box can’t change to girl. It will always say boy on it. It will say male on it forever.”
The couple have since been trying to contact Nottinghamshire Register Offices and the General Register Office but say they have not had a response, and have also contacted Ashfield MP Lee Anderson for assistance.
Mr Bingham said: “I’ve had a conversation with him [Mr Anderson] and he said he was going to take it up with the minister for children. He said to us it’s a long process and we haven’t heard anything yet.
“I’ve sent him an email going through everything in detail that’s happened.”
He added: “We’ve since had another lady called Sarah reach out to us who says exactly the same thing happened to her there.
“She also had her daughter registered at the same registry office as us, who had the same mistake.
“She has been able to go back and correct this but we haven’t had this option. The registry office changed her birth certificate. If it can be changed for one, why not for us?
“Apparently the lady who saw us also helped them fill out the form. She told us she had read and proof-read it. It seemed like she was rushing it.
“We could have overlooked the mistake if it could have easily been corrected.”
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.
“We are working with the family to put this right and will continue to support them throughout this process.”
