This situation appears to have developed into a growing trend, with cases of children being born to unknown fathers almost doubling between 2015 and 2016.
According to Jornal de Notícias, more than two thousand children have been registered over the past five years without any fathers, totalling 837 alone last year.
Whenever a mother registers a newborn without the name of the father, officials responsible for the child’s registration are required by law to notify public prosecutors who in turn initiate an investigation. Only once they are satisfied a child’s father cannot be traced will they allow a child to be issued with an identity document that only contains the name of the mother.
In many cases, mothers opt not to inform fathers of their offspring for a number of reasons, which means they often tell authorities they are unaware as to the identity of the father of their child, even though they might be absolutely certain of who he is.
Same-sex couples who travel abroad in order to conceive, will also return not knowing who might be their child’s father.
There are also cases where fathers refuse to accept paternity, though they are usually subject to DNA testing on the insistence of authorities, should they manage to track them down.