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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/18/birth-alerts-are-meant-to-help-children-at-risk-of-abuse-they-are-routinely-used-against-aboriginal-mothers>
"At the end of 2024, Rachel* was days away from giving birth. Her feet were
dangerously swollen and she was sleeping rough outside an Aboriginal support
service in the city.
Her reluctance to seek antenatal care meant the usual routine of scurrying
between midwives and doctors appointments for ultrasounds, blood tests and
screenings was absent.
Pregnant with her second child, she was terrified to seek help from a hospital,
fearing her unborn baby would be taken away from her. Her first son was removed
at just 11 months old.
“I knew I was pregnant with my second boy,” she says. “But I didn’t want to go
to the hospital and have them tell DCP [Department of Child Protection]. I had
the same feelings [of fear] I had with my big boy.”
A ward of the state herself, Rachel’s experience speaks to a national crisis:
the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care, a system the
former federal senator Pat Dodson likened to genocide. This overrepresentation
begins before children are born, with prenatal birth alerts triggered during
hospital or health assessments if there are concerns for the wellbeing of an
unborn child.
When Rachel eventually presented at a northern Perth hospital, she was
diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication, and told she
would be induced the following week. After being transferred to King Edward
Memorial hospital, the child protection department was notified – without her
consent.
“Nothing was supposed to be said,” she says. “It was all supposed to be
confidential. But the hospital told DCP I was pregnant. They rang them later
that same day.”
Rachel had been flagged under Western Australia Health’s “child at risk” alert
policy, drafted to reflect the statutory responsibility of healthcare workers
as mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse. Though designed to ensure
child safety, the policy can have wide-ranging consequences for families
involved."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics