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Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / November 2005British mothers fear baby will be taken for adoption if they admit post natal depression.
I thought it important to post this story from the BBC as it shows just how abysmal our social work industry is becoming in the UK under Mr Blair's 'New Labour' government. Under the new adoption laws a local authority can get Bacon Status and additional government grants if they increase their adoption figures sufficiently. Tony wants it doubled. It's starting to look a bit like the 60s all over again. I do have to wonder if there could be a connection between a large increase in adoption in my own local authority and poor provision for PND, well that and the fact that Essex SS takes babies away from adequate parents who have a low IQ. Robin Harritt http://harritt.net _____________________________________________________________ British mothers fear child will be taken for adoption if they admit post natal depression. Silent suffering of depressed mums Postnatal depression affects at least one in ten women. It can range from the so-called baby blues to the inability to look after their baby, hatred of the baby, and even to suicide. Yet if it is identified and treated, the vast majority of sufferers make a full recovery. But Real Story has discovered that many mothers are not getting support because they are frightened to tell health visitors and doctors about their condition. They are worried that if they admit to needing help they could be judged unable to cope and have their babies taken away. One woman, whose depression had made her suicidal, claims that social services told her "you'd better get better or your baby will be adopted." And a psychiatrist tells us of his fight for more specialist mental health services for the women who need them. "A lot of mothers in Britain are getting less than the best treatment," says Professor Ian Brockington. "And as a result of that I think a lot of them will lose their babies." Real Story with Fiona Bruce: Monday 28th November at 1930 GMT on BBC One. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/programmes/real_story/4477748.stm Published: 2005/11/28 11:53:32 GMT © BBC MMV Posted by Robin Harritt > I thought it important to post this story from the BBC as it shows just how > abysmal our social work industry is becoming in the UK under Mr Blair's 'New > Labour' government. Under the new adoption laws a local authority can get > Bacon Status and additional government grants if they increase their > adoption figures sufficiently. Umm...Beacon Status, that should read. See http://www.dfes.gov.uk/adoption/improvingpractice/beacons.shtml Essex becomes more and more controversial in some of its adoption work despite its status. > Tony wants it doubled. It's starting to look a bit like the 60s all over > again. I do have to wonder if there could be a connection between a large [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > Robin Harritt > > I thought it important to post this story from the BBC as it shows just how > > abysmal our social work industry is becoming in the UK under Mr Blair's 'New [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Umm...Beacon Status, that should read. So I figured. Though "bacon" suits well enough in the context of government grants, and the chance for local authorities to get their snouts in the barrel. See > http://www.dfes.gov.uk/adoption/improvingpractice/beacons.shtml > [quoted text clipped - 53 lines] > > > > Robin Harritt > I thought it important to post this story from the BBC as it shows just how > abysmal our social work industry is becoming in the UK under Mr Blair's 'New [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > and poor provision for PND, well that and the fact that Essex SS takes > babies away from adequate parents who have a low IQ. Sounds very possible. It sucks. Living with this kind of fear would make any woman feel even more anxious. I'm sure it would exaccerbate any PND symptoms a woman might have. In fact the fear alone might even be enough to cause it. Sort of like a self-fulfilling prophesy. This government really have got it arse-backwards, haven't they? I know plenty of terrific mothers who've suffered and recovered from PND who'd have lost their kids under this kind of lunatic scrutiny. Though most of these were the kind of reasonably well-off, educated middle-class matrons for whom greater allowance is generally made. Keep us posted. > Robin Harritt > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > > Robin Harritt > I thought it important to post this story from the BBC as it shows > just how abysmal our social work industry is becoming in the UK under [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > PND, well that and the fact that Essex SS takes babies away from > adequate parents who have a low IQ. Robin, I don't know why your're surprised. Give government this much power and then expect it to lay off people? Not a chance. In the evil United States, the state would never hear that a new mother had post-partum depression unless she turned to them for help (which would generally be a bad idea, since social workers in our country are generally about as nuts about these things as the ones in your country). Her doctor, psychiatrist and/or psychologist would not be required to tell the state anything, and her health care insurer wouldn't be sharing that vital tidbit of information -- her diagnosis -- with the state. So unless we get really goofy, or get a progressive Democrat as president (but I repeat myself), this shouldn't happen. Thanks for the BBC link. steve >> I thought it important to post this story from the BBC as it shows >> just how abysmal our social work industry is becoming in the UK under [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > steve Robin, I suspect governments are moving in this direction as it saves a lot in welfare money. I think my country is going in the same direction although I think there are very few adoptions here and I haven't heard of anything here like the BBC report (and hope I never will). Money is what is important rather than peoples happiness or their support. Ray >>I thought it important to post this story from the BBC as it shows >>just how abysmal our social work industry is becoming in the UK under [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Robin, I don't know why your're surprised. Give government this much > power and then expect it to lay off people? Not a chance. Steve, I'm not particularly surprised that it's happening. I am a bit surprised to see someone that prominent in the British media reporting in a rational way, that it is happening, and on primetime major channel BBC1. Usually it's just the anti-adoption brigade that get a hold of this issues like this and do more harm than good with them, by declaring that they're evidence of some evil conspiracy involving every evil adoption worker everywhere and politicians at all levels of every government. When someone who might be taken seriously reports about this, then it's time to spread the word. I wish I'd known that it was on, before it was broadcast. > In the evil United States, the state would never hear that a new mother > had post-partum depression unless she turned to them for help (which [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > So unless we get really goofy, or get a progressive Democrat as > president (but I repeat myself), this shouldn't happen. I find myself veering back towards the anarcho-syndicalist sympathies of my teenage years. Then, second childhood might be just around the corner. Umm..I don't know. Robin Harritt http://harritt.net |
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