We need to focus on the health of women subject to pre-birth and infant care proceedings

The number of babies and infants subject to care proceedings in the UK is growing,1 while the health of their mothers worsens.2 Women experiencing mental ill health, using substances, coping with trauma and abuse, or caught up in the criminal justice system are too often overlooked by services and are falling through the gaps between health and social care.Failure to fully consider the health needs of women in these circumstances carries huge risk. Research shows a high and increasing rate of social care involvement among women who die during pregnancy, childbirth, and the year after birth.3 MBRRACE-UK’s 2022 report on maternal deaths found that 20% of the women who died between six weeks and a year after the birth of their baby were known to social care services.3 This figure has substantially increased over recent years, up from 12% in 2012-14 and 17% in 2017-19. Eleven per cent of the…
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