This horrific news story was just beyond belief

The mother had other children, that she took to school etc.

We do not know the ethnic background here and speculating that this mother’s abuse of this child can be explained in some way is imo not helpful

MadMeg raises important points about the older children. Again, we know very little but it seems the care they received from mum was good enough not to raise concerns outside the family. Her punishment is a prison sentence which won’t necessarily mean she ‘never sees those children again’. The children’s needs are paramount and hopefully skilled professionals can assist with their questions and worries as they grow up. Will they be placed together? We don’t know how many children, or what ages. Was this family socially isolated. Are any of the older children also the result of mother’s relationship with the father of the infant, a man mum claimed abused her.
What a complex web to negotiate as time goes by.

Sorry, MadMeg, you caught me at an OTT moment and name calling is never good. My new medication is making terribly irritable and tense...I think I'd sooner have the affliction if it is turning me mean!
I do stand by my sentiment that I think regardless of her treatment of her other children, she deserves the harshest punishment. It is often the case that one child becomes the abused whilst the others are well cared for. We have to be absolutely clear that it is totally unacceptable. If this was a father doing this, I can't help feeling that there would be no sympathy whatsoever.

I know it was during lockdowns but she must have concealed her pregnancy, given birth alone and kept this baby concealed from her other children. How and why?

Because of the need to keep the child's identity secret, we will probably never know but it is an extremely,Ely strange story.

Someone said the child was not pushed under the bed in the drawer, but if not, surely she would have attempted to climb out as she grew unless she had no strength due to her lack of proper food.

It's just horrific and, whatever the reasons, there are just no excuses for this level of cruelty towards an innocent baby.

extremely,Ely
extremely

Many of the children taken into care and placed for adoption have suffered neglect. The first 100 months of life are critical to brain and general development so children who suffer extreme neglect, and even the most loving support later cannot undue all of the damage done by early neglect.
I know of two little girls (just 2 and almost 4 at the time) who were placed in foster care with a relative who had suffered severe neglect since the younger child was born due to the mother developing a severe mental health issue. They were undernourished, with matted hair and attachment issues. The older little girl tried to care for the baby- trying to smooth her when she cried and wetting a cloth for her to suck. They are both now adults in mid life. They both lived with the fostercarers until well into adult years and are part of the extended family and despite their difficult early lives, doing fairly well- one now a social worker.

I suppose during lockdown almost all support services- health, maternity, social care, and support services stopped. We were told we had to stay at home. We had to manage alone. The implication was we might die if we went outside.I wonder if at first this is what this women did- managed alone-but presumably as services resumed didn’t get help for whatever reason. It is odd!

Even now, after Covid, support services are not what they used to be. I guess like most of our age group, when we had babies we had daily visits from a midwife up to 10 days after birth, then regular health visitor home visits as well as regular clinic appointments.

My children have had nothing like this with their own children (eldest now 14). Out of hospital quickly after birth, clinic details provided, assessments of babies at certain ages and stages. As a social worker I worked closely with health visitors and really valued their involvement, knowledge and skills. I like to think they felt able to contact social workers with any concerns and have their opinion taken seriously. Working together in this way meant all children were monitored from birth and services could step in at an appropriate level and at an early stage.

Of course, none of this would have helped this poor child who no-one knew the existence of. But there may have been a pre-school child in the family receiving HV support so there is a possibility mums pregnancy would have been spotted and also may have had a relationship with the mother to be able to gain her trust. It is these universal services that have suffered so badly from years of austerity.

As to this particular child, it is absolutely heart breaking and I agree with others that she will undoubtedly have lifelong effects from these early years of total and absolute neglect. But I’ve seen the amazing results of good foster care and it seems this little one (and her siblings) may have found that.

We simply do not know enough of the circumstances that led to this to judge why it might have happened, so I don’t want to speculate any further. But in my experience few parents are truly evil (some are!) but life is usually more complicated than that.

Why would anyone need any for of support service to tell them it's not OK to keep a baby in a drawer for three years!! Common sense, morality or just plain intelligence should have informed this woman.

annodomini

The report I read said that the little girl had never been registered. I suppose that the poor child has never even had a name?

And never ran a fever? Or screamed with colic or earache?

I'm someone who is deliberately childless - but even I read the article and thought "Poor little thing! What a horrible way to treat the child - and I wouldnt fancy the chances of the other children either if she'll treat one of them that way. Awful.....awful."

Margiknot

I suppose during lockdown almost all support services- health, maternity, social care, and support services stopped. We were told we had to stay at home. We had to manage alone. The implication was we might die if we went outside.I wonder if at first this is what this women did- managed alone-but presumably as services resumed didn’t get help for whatever reason. It is odd!

This pretty much sums up the chaos for young families at the time.

Even now Covid and its impact on children is ignored by social services and the family court system.

Aveline

Why would anyone need any for of support service to tell them it's not OK to keep a baby in a drawer for three years!! Common sense, morality or just plain intelligence should have informed this woman.

I suppose the point might be that effective support services may have detected something earlier on.

I don't want to turn this tragedy into a political slanging match but services have been deliberately run down.

And dare I say it "older" experienced women with shed loads of common sense are not around any more.

Aveline

Why would anyone need any for of support service to tell them it's not OK to keep a baby in a drawer for three years!! Common sense, morality or just plain intelligence should have informed this woman.

👏👏👏

The woman had experience of babies and children, she already had older ones who went to school. Presumably no warning signs had been flagged about the other children so she knew how to care for them.

This poor baby, possibly unwanted, was shoved in a drawer and its existence hidden. At least she fed it, after a fashion.

Aveline

Why would anyone need any for of support service to tell them it's not OK to keep a baby in a drawer for three years!! Common sense, morality or just plain intelligence should have informed this woman.

Support services are not just there for support but also to monitor children’s welfare, as I said.

And support services might have sensed difficulties in the family ( such as an abusive partner) or mental illness in the mother.

Obviously good support services would have been better for this poor child but it's still incomprehensible to me that any mother would have thought that was an acceptable way to treat an infant. I wonder what the other children thought was going on? Presumably there was no Dad or other adult in the house.

As time went on, the mother went to work and took her other children to school, leaving the child alone in the drawer for hours on end, including leaving her overnight on Christmas Eve while she went with her other children to stay with her parents.

Apparently her new partner stayed at the house sometimes, Aveline yet had no inkling until that time he heard her crying.

Just stunning that he never suspected.

It’s probable this little girl cried very little. Babies usually learn that crying brings their carer (usually mum) so they cry when hungry, sad, tired etc . Grossly neglected babies usually sit silent, unmoving

I find it stunning that nobody at all ever suspected a thing.

Where did she give birth, for example; at home?

MissAdventure

I find it stunning that nobody at all ever suspected a thing.

Where did she give birth, for example; at home?

I agree MissA it beggars belief that no one else was aware of this dreadful situation. I hope the child gets all the care she needs now.

MissAdventure

I find it stunning that nobody at all ever suspected a thing.

Where did she give birth, for example; at home?

Yes. In the bath.

Oh, thank you.
I haven't read any of the reports on this, or the papers.