to think that this woman's actions, while illegal, were very clever?

[ReputableBiscuit]

Allowing for the fact that she git caught in the end.

For various reasons, I know of 3 women who gave birth last year after having their previous children taken into social services care. Any one of them could have been this woman, as I live around 10 miles from the hospital in question. Chances are it was none of these women, as a "neighbouring" hospital to Walsall could be anywhere across Birmingham, Wolverhampton etc. (i.e. a wide, densely populated area) but if it had of been, they had all had their older children removed for VERY good reasons, after many years of second chances.

Do you not understand how this could have been potentially very harmful for the newborn baby in question OP? We do not know what the mother's issues are, or - possibly - what her homelife/partner are like.

Contrary to popular belief, social services do not just take children away without very good reason.

OP hasn't said or even implied that what the woman did was right.

Sorry, it's not remotely 'clever'. Had she been able to think clearly, she would have realised that the long term consequences of doing something like that was that she would be caught and no one would ever, ever trust her again.

She has probably thrown away any chance she might have had to be assessed to care for this child.

So not clever. I feel very sorry for her that she obviously felt so desparate that this seemed like remotely a good idea but she is to 'clever' as the Daily Mail is to reponsible journalism.

Clever? If she was clever chances are she wouldn't have had her kids removed in the first place!

Of its nature, this was going to get found out. The woman whose identity she stole was inevitably going to give birth, so the truth was inevitably going to come out at the point or before, which of course is what happened. The very fact that she chose to conceal her baby's birth would then become another factor militating against her being trusted to keep it. So all that she achieved was to make her position worse. I just don't see how that can be described as clever.

Which bit is clever? Having a fourth baby when your three are in care?

Trying (and failing) to steal someone's identity?

You set the bar kind of low.

Sad. It could never have worked as the other mother was still around and all her bloods etc would not match the records. A mirena might be a good idea for her.

No, I am not usually impressed enough with fraudsters to consider them clever. And the end result was having her children removed so this was really not a very clever move by her at all.

The word clever is usually linked
with something good that should perhaps receive praise. I think this is why you're getting criticised op. In the dictionary it says it means 'mentally bright' so perhaps she was mentally bright for thinking up such a plan. But her actions were still devious, sad and desperate. I wonder why the other children were taken from her?!

Devious implies underhanded, but I'm not sure that clever implies praiseworthy or wise.

it was cleverly done, quite amazing how she must have plotted it and carried it out.

Unprincipled, mean as heck to the other woman, creepy, misjudged and short-sighted too. Thank heavens it was detected early. How desperate and how weird, as well as cleverly done.

OP I see what you meen, very catch me if you can.
Probably would of been more clever if she had legged it with her baby.

We don't know why she was having her baby taken and for that dark part I feel sad for her desperation, but happy the baby didn't come to harm too.
No doubt however unsuitable this women may be to mother her child she must of loved it to go to those lengths, lots of these types of cases are where the parent is a victim of their own pasts.

Meditrina- agree. Can be totally unnecessarily stressful getting discharged when you and your baby are ready to go home. Just imagine if you had gone into labour without your notes with you, or you're partner can't find where you left them at home.

Clever? Lol

It is like someone robbed a bank three times and got jailed for it, then in order to rob again he/she changed his/her identity.

I don't define that clever and dear OP if you defined that as clever I wonder what kind of moral values you have.

As someone said above, murderers/rapists/paedos have that kind of 'cleverness'.

Clever carries no moral connotations. I don't condone what she did.

Leaving aside the moral connotations, it couldn't possibly have worked, it didn't work, therefore it wasn't clever.

But why do you think it was 'clever' ? She didn't get want she wanted. She put herself through enormous stress. She still lost her child.

'Clever' would have been working with the LA and doing what she needed to do. Showing some insight into whatever problems had led to the loss of her first three children.

Really, really sad. And a really odd post, to be honest. It does sound as if you are celebrating it.

Clever carries moral connotations in some cases, i.e. Murders and rapes.

I could define Ted Bundy as a clever man until he was caught, couldn't I?

If you described Ted bundy or this woman as 'clever' I would guess you have a very limited vocabulary.

This is a very sad story.
It is definitely not clever, it is devious and cruel.

I woudln't describe it as clever but as desperate :( Obviously we don't know the full story of why her 3 children were removed but no doubt there were horribly sad circumstances we know nothing of.

It seems a lot of women go on to have more babies after their children are taken into care. I know of a woman who had 9 babies. She knew the last 4 would be taken at birth but she still went ahead. She described it as a a grief response to losing her other children. I'm not saying it was only that was what she told me.

It seems these women get very little support once their children are in care or adopted. The focus is (rightly) all on the child but if these women received effective ongoing help it may be cheaper and cause far less suffering than taken baby after baby into care.

Very sad all round

I know what you mean OP.

And clever holds no connotations positive or negative for me. It just means well, clever. It was a clever idea. Original, as well, I've not heard of this happening before in this context or even similar. Original also has no intrinsic positive or negative connotations.

That is a sad story listsandbudgets.

I always imagined that women / families who go through the trauma of a child removed at birth got stacks of support.