Not sure what will happen and worried i will lose my baby

[LW87]

Hello i have had involvement will sw before and worried the will come back when i have baby i am pregnant with i had all 3 of my children took into care because they where not gaining weight and had learning delays but in the end i asked my mum for help and she got one of my kids the other two i got back and sw left after 2 years the me and my husband found out that all three of our children had a genetic fault could TRIO what can cause child development delays and the weight gain now that i am pregnant i am scared that sw will come back because we have had them before and not only worried about new baby but my kids with special needs who remember what happened last time can anyone give me some advice please

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear LW87,

Welcome to the Parents Forum,

I can see how children services past involvement with your children will have caused you and your children a lot of anxiety particularly because they were removed from you at the time. The fact that your children came home to you and your mum shows how well you must have done –even though your children had not at that time been diagnosed with the condition of TRIO.

But you seem to be in a completely different position now than when children services first became involved.

When children services first become involved, it seemed that you were struggling without the support of your mother and crucially you or children services did not know about the genetic fault your children have which can cause developmental delay and weight gain. This was what children services were concerned about but they thought it was due to your parenting.
Also because children services were involved previously, there would have been extensive assessments of your family. This means children services should have a good understanding of your family.

It is possible that your GP or your midwife may make a referral to children services because of the past care proceedings.

You and your GP can let the social worker know about the diagnosis. It could be a social worker from the children with disabilities team that assesses the family. The assessment should look to see whether you need any extra support to help look after your new baby.

Here is information about assessments which links off to advice sheet 4 about family support. Part of this advice sheet deals with support when children have a disability.
Also look at our FAQ’s about family support.

At the end of the assessment there will be a written assessment which should advise whether children services will:
• Close their case;
• Offer support via a child in need plan;
• Only if they suspected your baby might be at risk of suffering significant harm would they hold a pre- birth child protection conference.

You could discuss your pregnancy with your GP. If your baby was to inherit the same condition, what support might you need from the health service? Your baby could be monitored by a paediatrician, so any problem that arises could be dealt with. A children’s physiotherapist could assess your baby. By getting this support via your GP, you may not need a social worker involved.

Contact can also advise about support that might be available for children with disabilities.

I hope my advice helps. If you need further advice, please post again or call our advice line for advice and support on 0808 801 0366.

Best wishes,
Suzie