Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter

Dr. Patricia Holness, chief executive officer of the Registrar General's Department (RGD), said based on evidence her office has received, it is likely that baby Lateisha Clarke will be registered in Jamaica.

The premature baby was born to Jamaican parents Shellesha Woodstock and Laflin Clarke, aboard Cayman Airways Flight 600 en route to Jamaica on October 2, after Ms. Woodstock claimed she was advised by hospital officials in The Cayman Islands to return to Jamaica to give birth after her water broke.

The Gleaner yesterday reported that the parents were facing difficulties registering the child, as they were informed by local authorities that the child could not be registered here as she was not born on Jamaican soil.

However, Dr. Holness yesterday told The Gleaner that the RGD is not opposed to registering the birth of baby Lateisha as long as the office is given a factual account of the birth.

"Once I get a statement from the pilot outlining the details, we have no problem registering the event of the birth," she said.

She explained that once this is done, baby Lateisha would have no problems acquiring Jamaican citizenship.

Baby Lateisha's story created a stir both here and in The Cayman Islands when The Gleaner broke news that the 19-year-old mother, who was 29 and a half weeks pregnant, delivered her premature baby on board a Cayman Airways flight.

Ms. Woodstock told The Gleaner that a doctor and nurse at the Cayman Islands hospital advised her that caring for a premature baby in the Cayman Islands was too expensive and that it would be cheaper if she went back to Jamaica. She was then given a signed letter by the doctor, Gilbretha Alexander, authorising that she was fit to fly.

Both the Cayman Islands government and the Jamaican Consulate in the Cayman Islands are conducting independent investigations into the incident, the results of which are due next week.

athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com

Once I get a statement from the pilot outlining the details, we have no problem registering the event of the birth