‘The lion's den’: Social workers' understandings of risk to infants

Abstract

Recent research has highlighted the increasing trends in newborn and very young children entering child welfare processes and care proceedings in a number of countries. Furthermore, differential responses to risk within young families across different geographical locations and communities in the same child protection system have been found. Safe care arrangements for newborn babies may include placement with kinship carers or with foster carers not previously known to the family. The distinctive needs of the increasing population of infants in the care system are only beginning to be fully recognized. The short-and long-term impact of contested infant removals on birth mothers has been powerfully highlighted, although the impact on fathers remains under-reported. There has been limited research evidence available on how decisions about the care arrangements for newborn babies are reached. In this paper, the author draws on data from an ethnographic study of pre-birth child protection in order to explore how social workers understand and frame risk to infants when assessing families during pregnancy. Data from interviews with practitioners reveal the extent to which their conceptualizations of and anxiety about risks to unborn babies shape plans for the future care of infants. K E Y W O R D S child protection, infant removal, unborn babies 1 | INTRODUCTION This paper reports findings from an ethnographic study of pre-birth child protection work. The research took place within an urban Scottish setting and focused on the activities of social work practitioners and their interactions with expectant parents. Unborn babies lack legal personhood in Scotland, meaning any legal action must wait until the baby has been born. However, child protection processes may be initiated during the pregnancy, thereby providing a forum for important decisions about the future care of the baby. The choices made by parents during the pregnancy may also be taken into account in the grounds for any legal steps later enacted. Increasing numbers of newborn babies and infants find themselves subject to care proceedings and separation from birth family in Scotland (Scottish Government, 2019; Woods & Henderson, 2018), a trend that has been noted in other countries with child protection systems focusing on immediate risk (Broadhurst et al.,

Patterns of adversity and post-traumatic stress among children adopted from care

“…Research shows that there are enduring psychological vulnerabilities for children adopted from care (e.g. Brown, Waters, & Shelton, 2017;Juffer & van Ijzendoorn, 2005) with evidence suggesting links with experiences of early adversity, such as toxicity in utero, birth complications, and early adverse childhood experiences (Tung, Christian-Brandt, Langley, & Waterman, 2020;Authors 2019;2020). However, few studies have examined the child characteristics and early environmental conditions associated with adopted children's development of post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms (Dovran, Winje, Arefjord, & Haugland, 2012), despite this group being more likely to be referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health LATENT CLASS ANALYSIS OF PTS IN ADOPTED CHILDREN 4 Services (CAMHS) for specialist care (Trotter, 2017).…”

Giving up the ghost: Findings on fathers and social work from a study of pre-birth child protection

“…As Ward et al (2006Ward et al ( , 2012's research has shown, infants considered at risk of significant harm in the English context are born into families experiencing multiple deprivations and difficulties, often over a long period. Nevertheless, the decision of whether to remove a baby soon after birth is a highly charged and difficult one for practitioners (Critchley, 2020a). Broadhurst et al (2017aBroadhurst et al ( , 2017b have explored in detail the significant short and long term impacts on birth mothers of infant removal, and particularly of repeat care proceedings leading to the removal of consecutive newborn babies from the same birth mother.…”

Social Worker and Midwife Decision Making Regarding Child Protection Risk and the Unborn Baby: A Qualitative Study

“…Continuity of care helps to reinforce relationships between professionals and pregnant women and allows for the development of trust and disclosure of sensitive issues (Oni et al, 2020). The importance of building good relationships with pregnant women to inform decision making was stressed by professionals in this study (Ayerle et al, 2012;Critchley, 2020). Adopting a non-judgemental, empathetic and compassionate approach towards pregnant women was paramount to inform and support the process of risk assessment (Reamer, 2013).…”