From the baby ward to the home: Kesb has removed a baby from the home – that’s what the mother says

The woman’s path to baby happiness takes her from the canton of Vaud to Denmark. There, unlike in Switzerland, single women may be artificially inseminated through sperm donation. After five years it finally works. Initially the pregnancy proceeds without complications. Then, on May 30 last year, the woman went to the Lausanne University Hospital: pre-eclampsia, cesarean section in the seventh month. The girl weighs 2.2 kilograms and spends the first day of her life in the incubator.

Three days later, Vaud’s child protection authorities placed her in the baby ward on an emergency basis and revoked custody of the mother. Ten days later the girl was taken to a children’s home. The mother, who studied in Paris for a number of years, is allowed to visit there for an hour and a half a week. But only under supervision, according to court decisions available to CH Media. Now she hopes that thanks to a complaint to the Federal Court, she will be able to independently care for her daughter in the future, who is having a difficult start in life, and not just because of the premature birth. A (still ongoing) drama in five acts.

After the caesarean section, the mother is weakened. Disagreements soon arise with the nursing staff and midwives. They criticize that it is dangerous how the mother holds her baby. She prepares the bottle incorrectly and ignores the recommendations of the expert staff based on her own internet research. The tone becomes noticeably worse.

A team of doctors from University Hospital, which handles cases of child abuse and neglect, confirmed staff criticism and submitted a risk report to the child protection authority. A psychiatrist adds that the mother hardly shows any emotions towards her daughter and hardly thinks about her behavior. This indicates a possible mental illness.

The mother’s wish to take her child home as soon as possible appears increasingly illusory. Four days after birth, she had to be treated in intensive care because she refused to take the necessary medication for high blood pressure. On June 5, the Lausanne Peace Court temporarily revoked her right to determine the whereabouts of her child. On August 25, she confirmed the decision.

“It is inhumane that my child was taken from me,” the mother told the newspaper “24 Hours”, which reported on the case a few days ago. The 39-year-old argues accordingly: It is normal to be tired and weak after an emergency C-section. An obstetrician behaved hostilely towards her and assessed the sperm donation negatively. In general, the hospital staff did not take her difficult situation into account.

“I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs. “I am a single parent, but my sister and my parents support me,” says the single mother. She also wanted to be supported by a childcare worker who was permanently present. However, authorities noted that at least three childcare workers would be needed indefinitely. Even the support of her sister, a neurologist, is not enough for a lasting solution.

The neurologist, herself the mother of a three-year-old child thanks to sperm donation, put in a good word for her sister. She emphasized that she had regularly nursed her daughter for a long time, changing her diapers and giving her a bottle without any problems. Her gynecologist judged that the mother was capable of caring for a baby – if she had sufficient family and social support.

A psychiatrist, who has written a report about her on behalf of the mother, advocates giving her back custody. It is a well-known phenomenon that a mother becomes a stranger to her child in such a stressful situation after a traumatic birth. And her lawyer told ’24 Heures’ that he had never seen a case like this in his long professional career. “You don’t take a child away from a mother on the pretext that she asks too many questions about the dosage of the bottle.” The authorities obviously see this differently. In her eyes, the single woman has a fundamental problem with adequate care for a baby.

A baby placed in a home straight from the infant ward: this scenario is very rare, according to a survey by CH Media on various Kesb shows. When it comes to this, the mothers usually suffer from addiction problems or serious psychological problems and neglect their child. The withdrawal of the right of residence is the most drastic measure in the field of child protection. They take action if, from their perspective, milder means are not sufficient to protect the well-being of the child. According to statistics from the Conference on Child and Adult Protection, 264 children aged 0 to 2 years were placed in out-of-home care in Switzerland at the end of 2022.

The fate of the mother causes a stir in French-speaking Switzerland. Manon Schick told radio and television RTS in western Switzerland that she could not comment on the specific case due to official confidentiality. The head of the Vaud Child Protection Directorate explained that parents are often unable to understand such serious decisions.

The authorities relied on a criteria grid. “An external placement is always the last resort,” says Schick. Their message: The Kesb is not a hostile authority that takes their children away from neo-mothers out of the blue, but rather an authority that acts in the best interests of the children. What the case also shows: Sometimes there is a deep gap between the perception of the affected parents and that of the authorities.

Is there no hope left for the mother? But. The authorities are trying to help the mother build a lasting relationship with her daughter. The Lausanne District Court of Peace has also ordered a psychiatrist to re-analyze the situation. An appeal is also pending at the Federal Court.

Meanwhile, the Cantonal Court of Vaud confirmed the arguments of the child protection authorities in a decision last October. They still have serious doubts about the mother’s baby knowledge. She still doesn’t know what it means to be a mother. She acts distant towards her child and calls him ‘baby’ instead of his name. (aargauerzeitung.ch)