Calls for more support for pregnant women to ensure safety of newborns

At least 100 babies a year are being removed from South Australian parents in their first month of life.

More than 100 babies a year are being taken from South Australian parents before they are even a month old, new figures reveal.

Growing concerns about the safety of newborns have led to a rise in removals and more infants entering state care.

The Child Protection Department says removing a baby from its parents is “a decision of last resort” but advocates say some families are given little or no warning, or support, beforehand and more must be done to help struggling mothers well before they give birth.

Over the past nine years at least 560 newborns have been removed from parents within their first month of life, surging from 19 in 2012-13 to 124 last financial year.

At the end of April, 101 newborns had been taken into care so far this financial year.

Mental illness, drug abuse and domestic violence are the core reasons the department says it is “receiving more reports of unborn babies facing potential risk”.

Members of the public can lodge concerns about a pregnant mother or unborn baby with child protection authorities from 20 week’s gestation, after a 2016 Royal Commission recommended reducing the limit from 34 weeks.

Latest figures, released following inquiries from The Advertiser, show there were 1461 such reports made in 2019-20 - up from 553 in 2012-13.

So far this financial year there have been at least 1200 reports.

Some parents are the subject of multiple reports, which could relate to substance abuse, self-harm, mental illness, homelessness or violence, as well as poor parenting skills or an unwillingness to make changes to keep a child safe.

Growing concerns about the safety of newborns have led to a rise in removals and more infants entering state care.Newborn crying baby boy. Picture: istock

The department would not say how many of the newborns were Aboriginal but confirmed 27 per cent of the reports about unborn babies related to Aboriginal families.

Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner April Lawrie wants to launch a formal investigation into the issue but says she is waiting for legal changes which would give her the power to compel evidence.

“We know our mothers aren’t being supported the way they should be during their pregnancy,” she said.

In 2019 the State Government opened a unit to support pregnant Aboriginal women at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

The department contracts Relationships Australia (SA) to work with at-risk families during and after pregnancy and Aboriginal Family Support Services will soon provide “a similar service”.

Centacare is also funded to run a program for young mothers who have already had a child removed and “high risk infant workers” are in place at SA’s three birthing hospitals.

Department deputy chief executive Fiona Ward said it aimed “to help pregnant women with complex social needs, and their families, develop a plan to ensure their children are born into a safe environment”.

A recent UniSA report found targeting more services to the state’s most at-risk mothers could prevent up to 80 per cent of child abuse and neglect.

UniSA’s Professor Leonie Segal said “while there are some services, they need to be scaled up and intensified to address what are often very complex situations”.

Opposition child protection spokeswoman Katrine Hildyard said the number of newborn removals was “an alarming call to action and deserves immediate attention from the government”.