Baby H, the B.C. infant who was seized from hospital after medical staff reported her mother was neglecting her 90 minutes after having a C-section is back in a stranger’s care after her aunt asked for a break.
The child, who is now five weeks old, hasn’t lived with her parents in that time and has been bounced from foster home to foster home to an aunt and now to another non-Indigenous foster home, says the grandfather.
“Not sure if she is with the same people or not. Could be her sixth (home),” said the frustrated granddad.
The two-day-old baby was controversially taken June 14 from the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, B.C. Staff and social workers complained the mother wasn’t caring for the baby 90 minutes after she had surgery.
The grandfather said medical staff told the family that Ministry of Children and family Development social workers told them that the couple is homeless, then changed their story to that they live in a homeless shelter.
The couple in fact, lives in a two bedroom apartment.
(Baby H and her parents at the Williams Lake courthouse. Social services returned the infant on the eve of a court hearing. Photo courtesy: the Family)
In a meeting recorded June 16 two days after the hospital apprehension Baby H’s shell-shocked dad said, “I still see no reason why (mom) and I aren’t capable of loving our child and taking care of her.”
An unidentified Kamloops MCFD social worker is heard saying, “I don’t think anyone is saying you’re not capable of loving (Baby H). Everyone’s concerned about baby being cared for and her immediate basic needs being met and we don’t have time to assess that.”
The family denies this and said when mom wasn’t tending to the baby it was because she was medicated by doctors.
In the recording, the Kamloops social worker admonishes the father saying, “(Mom) can’t even be roused for this meeting because she’s so out of it.”
The baby’s dad replied incredulously, “Yeah, from the prescription medication she was given from her doctor.”
The social worker advised the distraught father that, “we’re not going to change our decision. Time will change our decision, how you interact with support services outside the hospital and engage in child-centered services.
“So learning about child-centered cues and learning what it looks like to be a parent, I think, we need to see you demonstrate that in the services before we’d consider allowing the baby to be returned to your care.”
After that she was taken to a foster home in Williams Lake where her parents live.
She was abruptly taken home one night on the eve of a court appearance and given to her parents on the condition one of the baby’s grandmothers stayed with them.
The next day the grandmother left after a dispute about child care and called police who returned with social workers to take the baby again.
APTN News cannot name the baby or her family as she’s in government care.
APTN has not been able to independently verify this information or the status of the relationship between MCFD and the family.
Her grandfather said MCFD staff are also no longer in communication with the family because they started recording meetings with social workers over concerns the ministry was saying one thing and doing another.
The recording below has been edited by APTN News for length, and to redact personal information
In a meeting last week, social workers are heard telling the family things won’t proceed if they’re recording meetings.
A male social worker with MCFD says “we’re concerned you’re recording the meetings so if you’re going to be recording us, and we don’t consent to that, and ask you to leave if you’re recording us.”
A female social worker with MCFD then says “not asking you to leave but the meeting won’t proceed, OK. We brought some pens and paper if you want to take notes, you’re welcome to do that.”
The grandfather is heard saying “I’ve never been to your white mans’ school, I don’t write worth a shit so if you’re ashamed of what you’re doing and don’t want a recording, admit it.”
The woman told the family “I’m happy to take notes for the purpose of today’s meeting and give you a copy.”
In the end social workers left the meeting and have had no further communication with the family.
Read more:
B.C. CFS moves in to seize 90 minute old baby on report of neglect
APTN obtained the number of one of the social workers heard on the recording and called Friday.
It went direct to voicemail and his message said “I’m unexpectedly out of the office and do not know when my return date will be.”
MCFD also told the family to remove all social media posts about the questionable apprehension.
But it appears the social workers made up their own protocol around meetings being recorded.
“There is no policy prohibiting someone from recording their interactions with a social worker,” said a statement from MCFD.
As well, the nine-day silent treatment also appears to be contrary to their stated mission to “work with the parents and provide supports so that the child can be safely reunited with the family.”
Baby H’s mother and father are first-time parents in their early 30s.
The chaos created by MCFD has taken a toll on them mentally and emotionally, said the granddad
“Right now they are both pretty depressed over the whole bullshit,” he said.
“The infant’s aunt has been caring for her but is “taking a break.”
Meanwhile MCFD says they’re reconsidering how they seize newborns.
A statement to APTN said “we are actively reviewing our policies around hospital alerts and are guided in this work by our commitment to keep children and infants with their families or extended family.”
APTN has made a number of requests to speak with Katrine Conroy, the minister of Children and Family Development.
She has not made herself available for an interview.
A petition demanding the B.C. government return the baby to her parents has garnered over 3,700 signatures so far.
And someone started a GoFundMe campaign to help the family get a lawyer to bring the baby home.
Is there an update on this story? Where is Baby H now? Is there anything we can do to help this family?
Have there been any developments in this case? Hoping for an update soon…
Before you go signing petitions, consider this… Those parents “rights” were infringed upon. But, no one seems to talk about the responsibility of those parents to provide a safe, nurturing environment where that child can be a child. This is why you see homeless people with dogs, but not children. Dogs are accustomed to living outdoors. Babies aren’t. If MCFD *didn’t* take the child, I would call for a review of their actions, and demand that legal ramifications be considered. If you think that people who can’t secure an address could competently raise a child in this modern era, I consider your cognitive processes sub-par, and your ideology dangerous, and void of humanity.
this is happening to my wife an I. it has happened, It troubles me very much to say i know this and more of their pain and suffering. Our struggle continues, and we have no help, no way to pay for funds for a proper lawyer to get our child back. My wife and I are full time lawyers for ourselves… We can barely keep our fridge filled, because of the meddling and deception of the Ministry and their lawyers in our lives. The y have messed with our assistance, (of which we are now on because of the inability to work without having been undermined by forcefull manipulatory harassments.
The complete silence and indifference by all the people in positions to help us, either because they are part of the lies or they are unable to do anything, as for the autonomy of the MCF.. Im scared i haven’t seen my daughter for more than 20 minutes since she was born via cesarean and my wife was drugged as they forced through papers behind my back, this was in october of 2017~!~~~!!! please i need help. my family is just my wife and my daughter, and MCF has taken my daughter and each day my wife -well- im losing her too.. …. we had everything and more that our daughter would need and want. emotionally, spiritually, socially, materialy. we dreamt of our daughter and having a family, we didn’t dream it. we worked so hard to provide and prepare.
I don’t even have the energy to carry on the anger and absolute disdain i have for the midwives and the social workers and all the medical staff involved in this shameful perversion of our system thats mean to protect our families and support and build them up. Instead they abuse and contort the system to feed their own sick means. without regard.
We have enough evidence and proper documentation, recordings timelines, etc. EVERYTHINg, and yet- no one will help us.
I dont know what to do i feel so helpless. i promise upon my life that the evidence i have , that we have is enough to destroy this entire blackness and dark force of sick perverted filth in the veins of this putrid ministry. meant for nothing more than a means to facilitate sexual deviance and monetary gain for people who would be best if they were to be put down, frankly.
This does not represent the best interests of this child. Let her go home and monitor her progress. It’s obvious her current situation is not meeting her needs. There are Public Health Nurses who can monitor her health and social service workers who can drop in to help support the family. What about Indigenous ceremonies to connect the baby with her world. So much left out.
I would love to have this little baby and give this beautiful bundle a loving home. If anyone sees this and can help me by directing me to whom ever it may concern I would be very greatful xx
I find it interesting that no one is pointing out the irreparable harm that Children’s Services is doing to this child.
Five different foster homes. This child is not being given a chance to bond, or attach. Scientific research has pointed out that failure to bond in early life leads to Attachment Disorder. This disorder is responsible for later social problems.
Children’s Services is doing the real harm here. They are destroying this child’s ability to bond through the trauma of being repeatedly moved. When this child later turns out to have problems, it goes directly back to these early days.
This child needs to be immediately returned yo family. Whether it be parents, grandparents, aunties, whoever can offer this child stability and the chance to attach.
Children’s Services knows what they are foing. Why are we allowing assimilation and cultural genocide to continue?
I’d sign the petition in a heart beat this is so sad n unjust this is so wrong on so many levels I’d be heart broken who does this . N people wonder why I call them baby stealers
In an article on Prenatal and Perinatal care, in Somatic Psychotherapy journal, it was noted that, as an infant-Ted Kazinski (“the Unabomber”) had been taken from his mother in the hospital [except for one hour per day], and after less than 2 weeks his social-emotional bonding ‘collapsed’…. Besides, after all this work by the [Canadian] Aboriginal Healing Foundation in response to the Canadian Solicitor General’s report on the Aboriginal Residential Schools, one would hate to think a ‘replay’ was occurring.
This whole situation is so pathetic and disgusting. There was zero reason to apprehend the infant other than racism. The comment that “She can’t even be aroused to attend the meeting she’s so out of it” is proof of that. Imagine that, she has just had surgery and is under medication prescribed by her doctor and 90 mins later they are seizing the baby because the mother isn’t attending to it. Pathetic and disgraceful!! These people need to be fired they are so pathetically inept. They are even making up rules to deny the parents and grandparents their rights. I just can’t even believe this is still happening in 2019, sounds more like the 60’s sweep! My heart breaks for these poor parents. The ministry is abusing this infant by not allowing her to bond with her mother.
This is a very frustrating story. I have given birthand I have had a c-section and for neglect to be claimed 90 minutes after surgery!?!? The truth needs to be revealed! Whether a person with racial biases made assumptions or neglect was truly happening (90 minutes after surgery while still in hospital!), we need to know. I do believe minister Conroy needs to step up as minister, as a woman, and more importantly, as a human being and do the right thing. If in reading this narrative people are not told the victims are native, I do believe mighty changes would take place.
Government sanction kidnapping. Even if the mom had post partum depression she shouldn’t have been treated this way. I wouldn’t expect her to be able to do anything if they gave her too much medication. Hell they should have had the dad caring for her while the mom got her meds updated. All it takes is them rolling the bed to their room and letting them do what they need to do. I bet half those carers are on drugs.
The system isn’t broken. It was designed that way.
This is the only news agency reporting on this story and continuing with follow up. Lack of news coverage is a story in itself. Few people risk going public because the retaliation by MCFD includes terminating all access.
Kids are still dying at a rate of 120 per year under MCFD’s watch, but no one is reporting this, not even the remarkably silent children’s advocate . MCFD has a massive $2+ billion budget to watch 6,500 kids (over 60% are aboriginal… because of the extra federal funds that are paid to BC by Ottawa).
Stick with this story please.
This is disgraceful and despicable behavior by MFCD. When my sister in law had her C-section, after 19 hours of labor, she was barely awake, let alone capable of caring for herself, after 3 hours, let alone 90 minutes! C-sections are major surgery! Excuse, that is why there are nurses to help care for the family when that happens. MFCD is showing a complete disregard for that child’s ability to bond with her parents, and setting that family up for disaster. This is unconscionable.
MCFD will never admit to wrong doing, no matter what. I hate to say it, but giving the child back is seldom their goal. Guaranteed, they will set the bar so high for return, it will be near impossible. This seems to be their goal. The system is rigged, and not just for aboriginal parents- poor or single white parents are also targets. Its sick. They have way too much power, so much that even without evidence a judge will always side with the social workers
Our communities birthed their own children long before hospitals were around. Indigenous services need to also not follow in the footsteps of colonial policies. That just makes us red cloaked Indians.