Birth Companions welcomes the judiciary's consultation on a new Newborn Baby Protocol. This is a move we have long called for, and one that reflects principles at the heart of our Birth Charter and the National Integrated Care Framework we’re currently developing.
The Family Justice Council and the President of the Family Division have launched a public consultation on guidance relating to short notice applications in the family courts - the urgent proceedings that currently account for more than 60% of all public law cases. Critically, the consultation includes a proposed Newborn Baby Protocol, originally developed in Cheshire and Merseyside and now developed for national use.
This is significant. For years, Birth Companions has highlighted the harm associated with urgent court proceedings around the time of birth, and the challenge this presents for women's Article 6 human rights to a fair trial. When proceedings are initiated at short notice - often within hours of birth, while mothers are physically recovering, in pain, exhausted, and navigating the overwhelming emotional intensity of new motherhood - they often have no time to prepare, little or no proper legal advice, and no support to play a full part in hearings that will determine whether they keep their baby. These are not abstract legal concerns. They go to the core of what Article 6 of the Human Rights Act is designed to protect: the right to a fair hearing, with adequate time and facilities to prepare one's case, and the ability to participate effectively in proceedings.
Our Birth Charter for Women with Children’s Social Care Involvement sets out clear principles for how systems should work during this critical period, including that women should be supported to be with their babies wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so, and that decisions made in the hours and days after birth should be informed by proper planning, and respect for the profound significance of the relationship between mother and baby.
A national protocol that sets expectations for how these cases are handled - including the timing and conduct of hearings, the role of pre-birth planning, and the treatment of mothers and babies in hospital - is exactly the kind of systemic change we have been advocating for.
We welcome this protocol and will be responding to the consultation in full. Our response will draw on our 30 years of supporting women through children’s social care proceedings; the voices of women with lived experience; and the evidence base we have helped to build.
We will be urging the judiciary to strengthen the protocol in several areas, including:
These are not peripheral issues. They go to the heart of whether this protocol, which is such a significant step in the right direction, will really be able to deliver fair, humane, and effective proceedings for the families it affects.
The consultation comes at a time of growing recognition that the first 1,001 days from conception to a child's second birthday are a critical period in children’s development, shaping long-term outcomes. The government is committed to keeping families safely together, and recent case reviews underline the need for better coordination across the systems at play in families’ lives. The National Integrated Care Framework, which we are co-designing with those who have lived and learned experience of these issues, across health, social care, family and criminal justice, housing and more, will help drive forward a more consistent, compassionate and coordinated approach to care for women and their babies.
An effective national Newborn Baby Protocol would be an important part of that picture. We look forward to working with the judiciary and partners to make sure it lives up to its potential.
The consultation is open until 5pm on Monday 13 April. You can read the full consultation documents and respond on the judiciary website.
