Woman who has had seven children taken away is pregnant again, judge told

A woman who has had seven children removed from her care is pregnant again, a family court judge has been told.

The woman, who is in her late 20s, is due to give birth to her eighth child later this year, Judge Stephen Wildblood heard.

Her parenting ability has been assessed many times over the years and each assessment concluded that she could not parent a child safely or adequately, the judge said.

He praised the “enormous efforts” made by social workers who had tried to see if she could care for a child with professional support.

But he said the woman has “learning limitations”, has led a “very unsettled” life and experienced “so much distress and hardship”.

He said she is unable to focus on the needs of her children or “take charge”.

Judge Wildblood outlined detail of the woman’s case in a ruling published online following a family court hearing in Bristol earlier this month.

He said she could not be identified in media reports of the case and has not named the council which has welfare responsibility for her children.

The judge said, during the latest stage of litigation, he had ruled that the woman’s seventh child should be placed for adoption.

He also concluded that her current partner, the seventh child’s father, could not care for the child.

The judge said the man has a number of health problems.

“Over the years there have been many assessments, of many different kinds, of (the woman’s) ability to parent,” said Judge Wildblood in his ruling.

“Each assessment has concluded that she does not have the ability to parent a child safely or adequately.”

He added: “The mother keeps getting pregnant despite the many difficulties that she, her partners and her children face.

“She has given birth to seven children in 10 years and now is due to have another child … that will mean eight children in 11 years.”

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2019, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Google Maps.