New mums attending care hearings from hospital beds 'inhumane' says charity

The number of newborn babies involved in care proceedings has risen by 20 per cent in England and 40 per cent in Wales in ten years, new research has found, sparking renewed calls for investment in early help for families.

In 2023 more than 3,000 newborn babies were placed under what amounts to almost immediate proceedings in England and Wales, according to the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (NFJO).

Of these, 80 per cent of mothers had less than seven days’ notice before hearings to remove their infants, and 20 per cent were served notice of hearings the same day.

Previous NFJO research shows the number of newborn babies involved in care proceedings in England and Wales has been steadily increasing. In England between 2012/13 and 2019/20, numbers rose from 2,425 to 2,914 per year. In Wales there was an increase from 145 to 203 babies per year.

These figures drew widespread concern across the sector and led to further work by the NFJO to pilot new guidelines on the removal of infants.

The NFJO believes the practice of launching urgent care proceedings, often hours after a mother has given birth, needs urgent review.

Their latest research shows more than half (55 per cent) of all care proceedings involving infants related to newborn babies in 2022/23, up from 41 per cent in 2015/16.

Some mothers are forced to attend hearings virtually from hospital beds in busy wards with little privacy. Others have to respond to emergency orders on laptops, or are called to court and have to take public transport while still receiving medical care. 

While acknowledging that some babies need to be removed to keep them safe, the charity believes earlier intervention and supporting expectant mothers would mean more babies could remain with their mothers.

Lisa Harker, director of Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, said: "The numbers of babies entering care proceedings remains at a worrying peak.

“There has also been little change in the use of short notice hearings for these proceedings, one of the most inhumane practices of all. 

“These urgent hearings cause unnecessary trauma for new mothers, yet in both England and Wales the number of newborn babies who have a same day hearing has doubled to one in five in a decade.

"We are seeing green shoots of progress in Wales, where there has been a small but steady decrease in babies coming into care proceedings. But there is a strong need for renewed efforts to address how mothers and babies are cared for, both in allowing vulnerable mums to have the time to learn and prove their ability to safely care for their babies, and in how the process of taking their baby into care is managed if that isn’t possible."

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BASW England professional officer and social worker Denise Monks said: "We know that over the last decade investment in early help for children and families has been decimated and therefore families are often not receiving the early support they need.

"These figures reflect a system that is responding to crisis and firefighting at an unprecedented level, and while we welcome the government's intention to improve early help services, this has to be backed up with a sufficient level of funding, investment in the recruitment and retention of social workers and a commitment to tackle the significant challenges faced in our communities in terms of poverty, poor housing and access to adequate mental health and substance use rehab services."

Helen Lincoln, chair of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services' families, communities and young people policy committee, said: “While there are clear legal thresholds for intervention in family life, social workers navigate these with care, ensuring any decisions made under court oversight are in the best interests of the child.

“Babies and very young children, who are unable to communicate their experiences, require particular vigilance, making collaboration with medical professionals essential in understanding their needs.

“Social work is a complex and often challenging profession, operating in a space where difficult decisions must be made. Despite these challenges, the goal remains to empower families, helping them to stay together whenever possible by providing early and accessible support.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “We are committed to helping families stay together, wherever it is safe to do so, which is why we are reforming the system to focus on earlier intervention and ensure family networks are always consulted on decisions to move a child into care.”

A mother’s story

We were allocated a social worker during my pregnancy due to safeguarding concerns. But it never came to light until a few weeks before my due date that there was the possibility of a separation. Even then, nothing was explained properly – I just got told to get a solicitor.

This left us unsure of what to expect. We did not understand that we might actually have our baby removed.

I had to be induced at 37 weeks, which left us even less time to prepare for court. We were worried and terrified by the whole process. 
Two days after my baby was born we received a call from our solicitor telling us we needed to get to court. We asked when we had to go and he said now! I couldn't believe it that they could give us no notice at all and expect me to travel 18 miles on public transport within days of giving birth.

We then had to think who was going to look after our baby while we were gone? The midwife couldn't get hold of the social worker and none of my family could get to the hospital that quickly. Eventually the midwife said: "Just go before you miss the hourly bus, we will look after her.”

Even though we knew out baby was in safe hands, we were so worried about just leaving her. But we knew if we didn't go to court it wouldn't look good and were worried that it might be used against us, so felt we had no choice.

My mind was racing with worry and fear, and I wasn't physically fit enough to face what we was about to happen. We only just made it to catch the bus and all the way there my brain was full of worry and I was terrified about what was going to happen as well as thinking, is my baby okay and is she upset that I have left her?

We had to catch two buses to get to the court, and by the time we were about to look for our second bus, I was physically exhausted and just felt so sick. We then realised we had missed the connection and had to wait another 30 minutes for the next one. We were so worried we wouldn't get to court in time so we decided to walk a mile to get there quicker.

I thought, "This is brutal, how can they do this to someone who has just given birth?" We had almost arrived when we got another phone call from our solicitor telling us that court was being adjourned because the social worker hadn't turned up. I just started crying and was nearly sick with the stress and the realisation that we would have to go through all this again in a matter of days.

Because we were so worried and busy preparing for court, we didn’t get to spend any quality time with our baby, missing many of her first few days of life. I still can't remember that time with her; I only remember the court experience. That isn’t right for any mother.

We had to spend ten months away from out baby which felt like years, especially with everything we missed out on, like her first smile, her first laugh, her first solid food, sitting up and rolling over. We will never get those memories back.

When I look back now, I do understand why the local authority had concerns about our alcohol misuse, domestic abuse and home conditions but I feel that if they had intervened earlier and been more transparent at an earlier stage there might not have had to be a separation.

I also feel that there could have been more understanding, less judgement and the whole experience could have been more humane, making my recovery so much harder.

I am now using my negative experiences to bring about change for future families facing court proceedings. I worked with Lancaster University as part of their Born into Care research and helped develop the best practice guidelines.

Through this work we developed the HOPE Boxes to ensure no other mother is left feeling alone, judged and unsupported ever again. They are there to help keep connection as well as reduce stress, stigma and trauma, and to give the mother hope that there is a light at the end of all this which gives them the strength to carry on fighting.

I know that the HOPE Boxes would have made the world of difference to mine and my baby’s journey, so that even though I don't remember and missed so many of my baby’s firsts, they would have been there to look back on.

Also, through this work I am so pleased to say that I have been involved in a maternity unit in one hospital, opening a HOPE room to help families have private time, unhurried before a separation, quality time together to experience those firsts and be able to use the HOPE Boxes as they are intended. 

There is a computer in the room too so that parents have the choice to join court remotely and don't have to worry about travelling miles to get to court under pressure like we did.