Disclosure of birth

Re C (a child) v XYZ CC & ANR CA Telegraph 23 November

The appellant mother appealed against the decision of a judge directing the first respondent local authority to disclose the existence and identity of her baby to the extended maternal family and, if he could be identified, the putative father and any extended paternal family, against the mother’s wishes. The mother gave birth when she was 19 years old and unmarried. The baby was conceived following a one-night stand with the father with whom the mother had no other relationship. The mother had kept her pregnancy a secret from her family and, immediately after the baby was born she made it clear that she wanted the baby placed for adoption. She declined to identify the father. The local authority applied for a care order under the Children Act 1989 and for guidance on whether extended family members should be approached with a view to finding a home for the baby within her family against the mother’s consent.