Abandoned baby Elsa is third newborn to be deserted by same parents

[SerendipityJane]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5115e7k2eno

The authorities will know a lot more than is being said publicly. The fact three babies have been left in such circumstances and concern for the mother will have led them to make this link public now. For example, if there's a familial link shown by the DNA (between mother and father, not just that the babies have the same parents) or evidence of the mother having a particular condition, etc they won't reveal this. They want the mother to come forward if she can or anyone with concerns for the welfare of a neighbour, acquaintance, etc to flag these to them.

There is far less social support for mothers in the US than in the UK and this means there are far more babies abandoned in the US (7000 per year) than the UK (highest estimate is 16 per year, official figures are lower). So thankfully there isn't the same need for safe Haven boxes.

To add - once the children in this case are adults and can make the informed choice, they could choose to do their own DNA test and find their parents or other family members - this is the sort of "Long Lost Family" scenario people are talking about.

The police cannot proactively make that choice for them.

DNA would also tell you whether the parents are themselves related (I don't think) as you'd have to compare a child's DNA with a parent or other relative.

Thank you! The original comment making assumptions on "black names" smacked of a "colonialist attitude" more than anything.

I can't imagine it would be difficult to track down relatives in this age of DNA testing.

Yes. Judge Carol Atkinson who ruled reporting restrictions should be lifted said
"The abandonment of a baby in this country is a very, very unusual event and there are years where there are no children abandoned"

www.itv.com/news/2024-06-04/baby-found-in-shopping-bag-has-two-siblings-who-were-also-abandoned-court-told

Have you even read this thread?

Plenty of examples where this simply may not be possible due to the situation the mother is in.

Because women who are not in dire situations don't tend to give birth with no medical assistance and then less than a hour later walk outside on the coldest night of the year to dump their newborn. Let alone do that 3 times.

@GoogleWhacking how the hell do you know this??

Because I was working and we were told that a woman had rung to say she was going to abandon her baby and had been told to leave it at one of those places. We all had to check at regular times in case a baby had been left outside.

There was a similar ituation to this on that Nicky Campbell TV show about finding lost family members. Sisters found eachother, both abandoned a few years apart in a similar place but not linked til then. The family had too many children to feed but due to religious and cultural beliefs most likely didn't use contraception so pregnancies kept happening. May be a similar case?

Jesus Christ

Maybe, but the law as it stands would mean that it is up to the three siblings to decide whether they wish to take DNA tests and hire a genetic genealogist to trace trees and identify potential parents. It's not quick, it's not easy, it will require cooperation from other people (potentially around the world) to take tests to rule branches in or out.

Who the heck cares what they have been temporarily named. Whoever eventually adopts them will be allowed to change their names. It's better than them being known as "Baby A" etc. Traditionally, abandoned babies are temporarily named after the person who found them /police officer /nurse looking after them etc to give them an identity. These names are always changed later on, most importantly, to make them unidentifiable in the future. The main concern here is for the poor mother. I don't believe that just one hour after giving birth, she was trawling the streets looking for somewhere to abandon her baby. This smacks of an abusive situation to me. I pray there isnt some poor woman being held captive somewhere and being constantly impregnated by her abuser, then having her babies snatched from her immediately after giving birth to be dumped. It's got to be the father (with it being the same father for all three over a long period of time) or another close relative doing this. Why the heck couldn't they leave them in a hospital or at a police station? Probably scared they'll be caught on camera. Thank goodness the babies are safe but I'm so worried about the poor mother and what she is going through.

That was exactly my thought. A Fritzl scenario sprung to mind.

It is possible it's a woman being held captive so no one has even seen her 😰

You're so right.

I mean if the dad said he would either kill or abandoned the baby, no excuse at all. She should put her foot down.

If she's trafficked, kidnapped, here illegally, abused, held captive by her family or anything else she should just tell them "nope" and they would absolutely listen.

No excuses whatsoever, clearly this woman knows what she's doing and has choices 🤔

The names were temporary based on where they were found. They have all been given new names now.

I think she almost certainly doesn't have choices.

I have friends who have adopted siblings. They initially adopted one baby, but we're contacted by SS when they removed the siblings from the mother's care and they now have both girls.

This is so sad and tragic and it certainly sounds like there is something very much a miss.

It also concerns me when I look at the time gap between baby 2 being discovered in 2019 and baby 3 being discovered in 2024 and consider what might have happened in that time particularly during lockdown. I really hope that these people are found.

It sounds like a woman is being held against her will and her captor is repeatedly getting her pregnant and then disposing of the baby quickly after birth. The world is beyond cruel. I’m just glad the babies are ok. The chances are another baby will be found in a couple of years.

Why does that mean that was the same woman, and not another woman who did actually hand her baby to authorities?

The Long Lost Family programme related to three babies who were full siblings being abandoned. The mother was having a long term affair with a man who already had 14 children. There's a news story Here

Just to say about 'free contraception'.

I am an immigrant. I arrived here 20 years ago. In order to register with a GP i had to show them my immigration status and prove I had the right to be here. I assume it is the same today.

If this woman has been trafficked or is an illegal immigrant then she would not be able to do this and access the 'free contraception' some on this thread have bandied about as being so obvious.

You can now get contraception over the counter. It's not free. I don't know if you have to show any ID to access it. But I do know that when a few years ago I had to access the morning after pill I had to do so with the pharmacist taking me into a private room and recording who I was and asked a load of questions in order to ascertain any potential health reasons I might have. I had to give my name etc and say which GP surgery I was registered with.

So to say that 'everyone' has access to contraception of any sort as a way of condemning this mother is frankly living in a nice little bubble. It's simply not the case for all too many. I'm glad that their lives are secure enough that they don't know it's not the same for the most vulnerable women, and I also hope that they might stop and think a bit now.