Applications for babies to be taken in to care at birth are at a national high. This results in significantly impaired life outcomes for the birthing community and their babies. So what barriers and facilitators are at play here? We have produced the following review of the literature published in @BJMidwifery to uncover therapeutic mechanisms and interventions to support those at risk of having their Baby Removed from them at birth.

Tantawi-Basra, T., & Pezaro, S. (2020). Supporting childbearing women who are at risk of having their baby removed at birth. British Journal of Midwifery, 28(6), 378-387.

What did we find?

Barriers in supporting childbearing women who are at risk of having their baby removed at birth include:

• Social narratives – Do these set women up to fail?
• The paradox of help-seeking, fear and stigma – Women avoiding seeking help due to a fear of services
• Inequalities in ethnic minority groups
• Adverse childhood events (ACEs) and the cycle of maltreatment

Facilitators in supporting childbearing women who are at risk of having their baby removed at birth include:

• Women’s capacity for change and self-esteem
• Childbearing becoming a motivator for change
• Mutual and realistic goal setting
• The development of strong professional relationships
• Early and sustained interventions

Uniquely, using the themes presented within this review, we have been
able to model the cycle of maltreatment which needs to be broken in Figure 1.

As this review only yielded eight studies in total, further research could usefully inform a richer provision of research inspired teaching and training in this area.

Follow me via @SallyPezaro; The Academic Midwife; This blog

Until next time…Look after yourselves and each other