Final published version
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Urgent Care Proceedings for New-born Babies in England and Wales – Time for a Fundamental Review
AU - Broadhurst, Karen
AU - Mason, Claire
AU - Ward, Harriet
PY - 2022/3/2
Y1 - 2022/3/2
N2 - Abstract Emergency action to safeguard babies at birth who are at risk of significant harm is sanctioned in a number of international jurisdictions, including the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. However, there is widespread international disquiet about this practice, regarding breaches of parents’ Articles 6 and 8 rights (Human Rights Act 1998), as well as the reliability of hasty decisions for children. This article reports the findings from the first large-scale qualitative study of professional and parental experience (n = 307 participants) of compulsory State intervention at birth, with a specific focus on urgent care proceedings. Completed in eight local authority areas and corresponding health trusts in England and Wales (2019–2021), the study concludes that children’s social care, hospitals, and the family courts are not yet sufficiently aligned around the needs of a small, but highly vulnerable population of mothers, their partners, and babies to ensure equitable, just or effective practice in cases of urgent care proceedings. Evidence is provided from both professionals and parents about the highly consequential nature of interim decisions, particularly where they result in physical separation of mother and baby at birth. The article advances knowledge about the distinctive challenges of issuing family court proceedings in the immediate post-partum period and calls for a fundamental review.
AB - Abstract Emergency action to safeguard babies at birth who are at risk of significant harm is sanctioned in a number of international jurisdictions, including the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. However, there is widespread international disquiet about this practice, regarding breaches of parents’ Articles 6 and 8 rights (Human Rights Act 1998), as well as the reliability of hasty decisions for children. This article reports the findings from the first large-scale qualitative study of professional and parental experience (n = 307 participants) of compulsory State intervention at birth, with a specific focus on urgent care proceedings. Completed in eight local authority areas and corresponding health trusts in England and Wales (2019–2021), the study concludes that children’s social care, hospitals, and the family courts are not yet sufficiently aligned around the needs of a small, but highly vulnerable population of mothers, their partners, and babies to ensure equitable, just or effective practice in cases of urgent care proceedings. Evidence is provided from both professionals and parents about the highly consequential nature of interim decisions, particularly where they result in physical separation of mother and baby at birth. The article advances knowledge about the distinctive challenges of issuing family court proceedings in the immediate post-partum period and calls for a fundamental review.
KW - Law
KW - Sociology and Political Science
U2 - 10.1093/lawfam/ebac008
DO - 10.1093/lawfam/ebac008
M3 - Journal article
VL - 36
JO - International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family
JF - International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family
SN - 1360-9939
IS - 1
M1 - ebac008
ER -