‘I can’t sleep, I’m terrified’: the rise in mothers having their babies taken away within days of giving birth in England

In 2022-23 nearly 3,000 newborn babies were subject to care proceedings in England, an increase of nearly 20% since 2012-13. Composite: Observer Design/Getty Images

Ella* gave birth to her daughter in a London hospital last week. Days later, still in the same busy ­hospital, she appeared via a laptop in a court hearing, challenging an emergency order from the council, which wants to take her baby into care.

“I’m not eating properly. I can’t sleep because I’m terrified. I just want to go home with my baby,” she told the Observer this weekend. “I don’t feel they are giving me a chance.”