More and more babies are being taken away from their mothers: “It's drastic, but sometimes there's really no other option.”

Foster care is under pressure, even for babies in need: “One child had to wait two months in the hospital for a place.”

Currently, 164 babies aged 0 to 1 year are on the waiting list for foster care. The number of applications is increasing year after year. The number of babies placed outside their homes is also rising. "A baby often has to stay in the hospital for weeks because there's no suitable place anywhere."

Steven De Bock Domestic Reporter

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It's perhaps the most traumatic thing I've ever seen: a young mother forced to give up her baby immediately after birth. Full of hormones, ready to start breastfeeding. But forced to give up that baby because the situation is unsafe.

Karen Vereycken is head of the social services department at the Hospital aan de Stroom in Antwerp. The situation she describes is not an isolated incident. In 2024, 2,435 babies between the ages of 0 and 2 ended up in youth care facilities, according to new figures from the Agency for Growing Up. Everyone in youth care—doctors, juvenile court judges, social workers—agrees that babies and parents should be separated as little as possible. However, the figures show a steady increase in the number of out-of-home placements, from 410 in 2020 to 562 in 2023. In 2024, there appears to be a slight decrease—to 543—but experts in youth care agree that this is mainly due to overcrowded capacity, including at the Child Care and Family Support Centers (CKG), which "in the meantime try to help families with only (intensive) support."

Currently, 164 babies aged 0 to 1 year are on the waiting list for foster care, says Jeroen Vandenbussche of Foster Care Flanders. This is a snapshot. More detailed figures from the province of Antwerp show how the demand is growing year after year. In 2023, 213 babies were registered for foster care there. This year, there were already 284 by early November, including around fifty applications for emergency placement. The reasons are diverse. There are cases of neglect or abuse, parents struggling with a serious addiction or psychiatric problem, or parents unable to care for their baby themselves due to a disability.

The heartbeat and the voice

All juvenile court judges are familiar with them: harrowing cases where babies are removed from their parents immediately after birth. "We only do this in dire emergencies," says Ghent juvenile court judge Anelore Bruneel. "Because we know how devastating something like this is. After nine months of pregnancy, there's a tremendous bond between mother and child. A baby knows its mother's heartbeat, her voice. Cutting something like that must have a huge impact on such a baby, even if it receives the best care elsewhere. But sometimes there's simply no other option. With mothers with serious addictions. Or when the parents threaten to disappear with their child against the doctor's advice, putting it in danger."

All juvenile court judges are familiar with distressing cases of babies who have to be taken from their parents immediately after birth, including Anelore Bruneel. © Frederiek Vande Velde

Her colleague Luk Versteylen from Antwerp agrees. “The vast majority of parents have their children's best interests at heart, even if they need help. But there are exceptions. I'm thinking of a mother of four children, all placed in care, who said without hesitation that she would simply have another child. She actually did. But because she showed up pregnant at a juvenile court hearing, we were aware of this and were able to intervene quickly after the birth and place that baby in care as well.”

The vast majority of parents have their children's best interests at heart, even if they need help. But there are exceptions.

Luk Versteylen

Juvenile judge

"Youth services always try to find a foster family within the parents' social circle first," says Bruneel. "A sister, an aunt, a grandmother... But those people have to be strong enough to stand up to the birth parents and ensure they adhere to the agreements. Sometimes the parents realize they can't care for their child themselves. But very often, there's mainly misunderstanding. Anger even. And there are mothers who have no or a very weak support network. That's why we often have to look for a foster family outside the parents' social circle, or for another place of care."

Hospital as emergency shelter

But the fact is that foster care is under pressure. In recent years, the number of foster care placements initiated for the youngest age group – children aged 0 to 2 – has risen from 370 in 2020 to 459 in 2023 and 449 in 2024. Launching even more placements is not possible due to a lack of potential foster parents. "We're investing heavily in recruiting new candidates," says Jeroen Vandenbussche of Foster Care Flanders. "But we're seeing the numbers stagnate, while demand continues to grow. The figures are clear. The number of foster placements has doubled in ten years. Flanders currently has 10,368 foster care situations. But we're still looking for a thousand families to fill the waiting list."

"The reality is that many babies placed under supervision are forced to stay in the hospital for weeks," says Karen Vereycken of ZAS Antwerp. "They call it social admission because there's no medical necessity. They stay in the neonatal unit, where no one can just walk in. And where we can exercise supervision if the juvenile court judge grants the biological parents permission to visit the child." The social costs of such social admission are significant. "Neonatal nurses try to give these children as much warmth as possible. They keep a diary for such a child, take a photo every now and then, and hold the baby as much as possible. But that's certainly not ideal."

The neonatal nurses try to give these babies as much warmth as possible. They keep a diary, take photos every now and then, and hold the baby as much as possible. But it's certainly not ideal.

Karen Vereycken

ZAS Antwerp

Tracy De Weirdt, head midwife of the neonatal unit at AZ Alma in Eeklo, a hospital known for its social role, agrees. "I remember an extreme case where a baby had to wait two months in the hospital for a suitable placement. That's not easy for our midwives either, because they naturally develop a bond with the child. They carry it around in a baby carrier and occasionally take it for a walk on the hospital grounds. After all, a baby just a few weeks old has very different needs than a premature or newborn baby. Occasionally, a midwife even wants to take a baby home, but that's obviously not so simple."

Tracy De Weirdt sees more pregnant women with mental health issues. © Carlo Coppejans

The number of babies forced to stay in the hospital for extended periods fluctuates from year to year, according to figures from the Agency for Growing Up. 2023 was a low point, with 94 social admissions of babies. Last year, there were 55. This year, the count had already reached 25 by early May. But according to the Children's Rights Commissioner (KRC), these are only babies under the supervision of the juvenile court judge. "In practice, we fear that many more children are involved." Just this week, the KRC issued an advisory opinion on this matter. They call the fact that children are forced to stay in a hospital due to a lack of care facilities "a violation of children's rights." "Every child should be able to leave the maternity ward and go to a safe home."

Intervention before delivery

Last month, Flemish Minister of Welfare Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) launched her plans for youth care reform. A striking example: the intention to provide better support to pregnant women and, in the best interest of their child, to impose mandatory care if necessary. Residential care would also be provided if necessary. Juvenile court judges would even be given the power to decide to remove a baby from its parents even before birth. Currently, juvenile court judges can only be involved after birth. After all, a child does not legally exist until it is born.

Karen Vereycken and Anna Dimitrakopoulou, working from the hospital's social services, do everything they can to ensure that mothers and babies can stay together. © Joris Herregods

The new regulation doesn't exist yet, but Antwerp has already implemented it in recent weeks, says Karen Vereycken. "It involved a pregnant patient who was homeless and had severe substance abuse. During her pregnancy, an agreement was reached with the public prosecutor's office and the juvenile court judge that the child would be removed from her if the situation didn't improve. This was also communicated to the woman. When she gave birth, she was prepared. She knew what would happen. She knew she would be able to visit her child in safe conditions. Of course, that didn't take away the grief, but there was much less uncertainty and anger."

No time to wait

Within the healthcare sector, there's a strong belief that much more can be achieved by ensuring sufficient prenatal care is available. "I'm seeing a growing number of pregnant women in precarious situations," says head midwife Tracy De Weirdt. "Drug problems are on the rise. And especially mental health issues. Sometimes these people want help, but they're faced with waiting lists."

According to Anna Dimitrakopoulou (left), social services often encounter the problem that the necessary help is not immediately available. © Joris Herregods

Anna Dimitrakopoulou of the Middelheim Hospital social services agrees. “We're already working very proactively and trying to provide all the necessary support to pregnant women who need it. We're doing everything we can to keep mother and child together. But the inaccessibility of mental health care is a huge problem. A pregnant woman simply can't wait three months. But the housing crisis is just as problematic. For example, I've been trying to find a solution for a homeless pregnant woman for quite some time. She's currently living with a friend, but it's clear she can't stay there after her baby is born. We've been trying to find an alternative for months, but it's been unsuccessful because she's not actually living on the streets at the moment. In reality, we'll have to wait until things go wrong after the birth before we can find a solution. If the juvenile court judge then has to remove that child from the mother, that's simply a failure of the system.”

"Newborn babies sometimes have to go through withdrawal for weeks"

Sweating, fidgeting, constantly restless... Babies exposed to drug use during pregnancy can suffer greatly, says neonatologist Sophie Baré of ZAS Middelheim. "Sometimes they have to go through weeks of withdrawal."

It's sad to see a newborn baby struggling to kick their mother's addiction. They're fidgeting, restless, sweating. Everything tells you they're not feeling well. We first try to help them with comfort measures to increase their comfort. But often that's not enough, and we have to give them medication to treat the symptoms. These can be benzodiazepines. But with heroin addiction, we sometimes have to resort to morphine syrup and then wean them off the medication over weeks.

As head of the neonatology department at ZAS Middelheim, Sophie Baré regularly encounters babies exposed to drugs or medication during pregnancy. It's officially called "neonatal abstinence syndrome" (NAS). She estimates that around twenty babies with the syndrome are admitted to the Hospital aan de Stroom in Antwerp alone each year.

These children are admitted to the neonatal unit for continuous monitoring. "Parents are welcome there. The goal is to keep parents and child together as much as possible. But if the home situation is unstable and the baby is at risk, child welfare services, and if necessary, the juvenile court, are involved. They decide what should happen to the baby after discharge. Finding a foster care placement isn't easy. There's already a shortage of foster care placements. Moreover, caring for a baby recovering from drug addiction and dealing with their social situation isn't something everyone can handle."

Baré fears that many addicted children escape the attention of doctors and nurses. "A mother with a severe heroin addiction is, of course, easily recognizable. And if a mother arrives heavily intoxicated, we see it too. In those cases, we can test the baby and initiate care. But many addictions are less easily recognized. Cocaine, heavy recreational use of cannabis or party drugs. Or the abuse of tranquilizers." Newborn babies often only begin to show symptoms after a few days. "But by then, those mothers have already gone home with their child, and those babies have to go without the necessary care. We can only hope that these parents will return to the hospital with their child."

The long-term effects are unclear, says Baré. "There aren't many long-term follow-up studies. Moreover, new designer drugs are constantly being discovered. But we do know that cocaine exposure during pregnancy can lead to cognitive impairment."