Teens who give birth in care are 11 times more likely to have their babies taken by child protection services.
CBC News Posted: May 29, 2018
There is a well-known connection between teen pregnancy and child protection services. Girls who spend time in the care of child protection services have higher rates of teenage pregnancy, and teenage mothers are more likely to have their child taken into care.
Teenage mothers who give birth when they are in out-of-home care (e.g. foster care, kinship care) are also more likely to have their children taken into care.
Until recently, we didn't know how often this happens. It turns out, it is all too common.
In a recently published study in Pediatrics, my colleagues and I followed the children of 5,942 teenage mothers in Manitoba up to their second birthday to see how many were placed into care. We found that among teenage mothers who were themselves in care when they gave birth, 49 per cent of their children were placed into care before their second birthday, with 25 per cent being placed in care in their first week of life
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