One in four mothers of newborns placed in care have multiple children removed

A study by the University of Lancaster has discovered that a quarter of birth mothers whose children are removed by care proceedings are caught in a destructive cycle, with one child after another being taken away. In one extreme case, a woman had 16 children taken away from her by family courts, with experts saying the cycle is fuelled because mothers are not entitled to any professional help after children are removed.

Agencies are not under any statutory obligation to provide comprehensive support to mothers post-removal, despite many being severely emotionally damaged. One charity working with birth mothers found its clients had an average of four children removed by social services, one after another.

The article on the report originally appeared in the Guardian and you read more on the story here