On March 30, 2004, Erin Dickerson gave birth to a 6-pound baby boy with curly brown hair and chubby cheeks.

But baby James, who kicked his way into the world, was born still, the medical term used to describe fetal deaths occurring after 20 weeks in the womb.

Dickerson left the hospital with a purple box holding a teddy bear and newborn's baby bracelet. She had no answers. Only a death certificate.

She wanted, at the very least, a birth certificate, too.

And while that was not available to her four years ago, it is now, thanks in part to her lobbying efforts.

Beginning July 1, birth certificates will be issued for stillborns. It's part of the "No Heartbeat Act," recently passed by the Legislature and then signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

The certificate carries no legal weight, but Dickerson believes the document —- already available in at least two dozen states —- offers comfort to grieving parents and will draw more attention to stillborn babies, often a mystery to the medical community.

"Nothing can bring these children back to us," said Dickerson, a 31-year-old attorney and mother to three young kids. "But something like this can acknowledge he was here. I was in labor for 12 hours. He is a part of my family history. This offers recognition, validation and compassion."

For Marcia McGinnis, founder of Share Atlanta, a pregnancy loss support group, the measure can help change the way society views stillborns, which occur in nearly one in every 200 pregnancies in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Georgia, there are about 1,000 stillbirths annually. And in at least half of the cases, the cause of death is unknown.

Years ago, it was common for nurses to whisk away stillborns as if they never existed. But nowadays, parents often are encouraged to hold the baby, and measurements and footprints are taken.

"It's so powerful," said McGinnis, who also pushed for the measure. "You have to go through labor and deliver these babies and instead of raising these babies, you are planning a funeral. And then to hear the baby is not recognized. ... This is a memorial document that recognizes these babies and the more that is done, the more research into why this happens will be embraced."

Emory University was one of five universities across the country receiving a special grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to study the stillbirths.

The Emory Stillbirth Study, which received a $778,000 NICHD grant about three years ago, is studying causes.

Researchers are conducting autopsies, DNA testing, examining placentas and interviewing mothers. The local data will be analyzed later this year, according to Janice Daniels, a labor and delivery nurse and study coordinator at Emory.

"It's always been a hush hush thing," said Daniels. "Friends don't know what to say, and you feel so isolated. We want to lift the cover and say, we love this baby even though it was not born alive. ... And we want to keep looking for answers."

ABOUT THE CERTIFICATE

Beginning July 1, parents can request a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth from the state Office of Vital Records. It costs $10. Parents can request a certificate for a stillborn baby born before July 1.

More information, about the certificate, go to shareatlanta.org.