OB/GYN

Our prenatal area is a special environment where physicians and staff, sensitive to the uniquely feminine needs of obstetrics, gynecology and other related healthcare disciplines, work with empathy and sensitivity.

Our service include:

Labor and Delivery
Newborn Nursery
Postpartum Care

Dodge County Hospital named "Georgia Safe to Sleep" Hospital for more information about this program click here

Georgia Safe to Sleep

Birth Certificates

During your hospital stay, you will be asked to complete a birth certificate worksheet that will give us the necessary information for you to receive your child's legal birth certificate. A Birth Certificate Clerk or a member of our nursing staff will be available to assist you with the completion. This information will be sent to the State Vital Records Department to register your child.

You may download and print the birth certificate worksheet to bring with you to hospital here.
How to Obtain a Certified Copy of a Birth Certificate
Birth Certificate Worksheet Instructions
GA Birth Certificate Worksheet
You will receive a confirmation of birth letter from us during your stay or mailed to you. Please make sure that your correct address is in our computer system. If your address is not correct, you will not receive necessary paperwork from us or your child's social security card. Your child's confirmation of birth letter will be needed for insurance providers, Medicaid, and other agencies who will need proof of birth. Make sure you keep the original and make copies for all others that might need it.

If you deliver and are discharged from the hospital during a weekend/holiday and you were not able to speak with a Birth Certificate Clerk in person, we will call you on the next business day to verify and collect any needed information. Please make sure that correct and working phone numbers are in our computer system to contact you. The Birth Certificate Clerk is available Monday- Friday between 8:00 a.m. -4:30 p.m. and can be contacted at extensions 1438 and 1439.
The hospital does not issue birth certificates. The charge for certified copies of birth certificates is $25.00 and $5.00 for each additional copy.

Locally, to obtain a certified copy of your child's birth certificate you will need to contact:
Dodge County Probate Office
5401 Anson Ave.
Eastman, GA 31023
(478) 374 - 3775

The state of Georgia can be contacted through this website and the different ways (mail, walk-ins, online) to obtain your child's birth certificate:
https://dph.georgia.gov/VitalRecords

State Office of Vita; Records
1680 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30349
(404) 679-4702
Response Time: 8-10 Weeks

SOCIAL SECURITY CARD

Your child's Social Security Card will come from through the mail to your address listed on the Birth Certificate Worksheet from the Social Security Administration Office.

Please note that it may take up to 6 - 8 weeks for you to receive a Social Security Card. Please make sure that your mailing address on the Birth Certificate Worksheet is correct. If you do not receive your child's social' security card within this timeframe, please call 1-800-772-1213 or contact your local Social Security Office.

PATERNITY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - FOR UNWED PARENT

In the case of unwed parents where the father consents to have his name appear on the birth certificate, a Paternity Acknowledgement form will need be completed and signed by both parents. A Paternity Acknowledgement form is a sworn/notarized of the unmarried mother and the person named as the father to be accepted as authority to enter the father's name on the record of live birth.

A legal picture I.D. and a Social Security number are required by the father.

If the mother is SINGLE, defined by the State of Georgia as not married either at the time of conception or birth, the name of the child's father will not be entered on the certificate of birth without his consent and the consent of the mother.

If the father is not available before the mother's discharge to complete the form, both the father and mother will be referred to the Dodge County Probate Judge's Office at the Dodge County Courthouse (478) 374-3775 to be completed after discharge. A Paternity Acknowledgement form may be completed at NO COST up to the child's first birthday.

SIGNING A PATERNITY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM DOES NOT LEGITIMIZE

THE CHILD 2015 Georgia Code
Title 19 DOMESTIC RELATIONS
Chapter 7 PARENT AND CHILD RELATIONSHIP GENERALLY
Article 2 LEGITIMACY
O.C.C.A. Section 19-7-25

Only the mother of a child born out of wedlock is entitled to custody of the child and that she exercises all parental power over the child unless the biological father legitimates the child as provided in Code Section 19-7-21.1 or 19-7-22. Otherwise the mother may exercise all parental power over the child.

The only way the biological father can obtain legal visitation or custody rights to a child is to legally legitimate the child by filing a Petition to Legitimate. The father can file a petition in the Superior Court of the county in which the mother resides. For further information regarding legitimizing the child contact the Superior court in the county in which the mother resides. We can provide some FAQS upon request.