Newborn baby taken into care from parents with learning disabilities after father speaks about bottle-feeding – WBNews

© Provided by Independent Print Limited Social workers wrongly took a newborn baby into care when the father was overheard discussing the benefits of bottle feeding, a judge has ruled. The parents, who both have mild learning disabilities, were awarded damages after Mr Justice Cobb found there was no justification for Kirklees Council in South Yorkshire to remove the one-week-old baby boy from their care. He said there was “no doubt in my mind” that social workers had violated the couple’s human rights after they persuaded another judge to take the baby into emergency care in November 2015. Staff at the special care unit where the infant spent the days following his “traumatic” delivery expressed no concerns about the parents’ fitness to care for their child, he said. But he said that maternity ward doctors told the council they had concerns about the couple’s long-term ability to care for the baby. His judgement, handed down after a private hearing at the family court in Sheffield, said the baby was taken into care after social workers said the mother had no family support and “the father was expressing unorthodox views about the need for sterilisation of bottles, and the benefits of formula milk”. “The father struggles to manage his frustrations at times, and has displayed controlling and aggressive behaviour to others,” Judge Cobb said. The mother suffers with “minor mental health difficulties”, in addition to a mild learning disability. The parents, both in their mid 20s, have received support from adult…more detail