• M W Bijlsma, J M B Wennink, A C Enkelaar, M H B Heres, and A Honig.
• Sint Lucas Andreas Ziekenhuis, Postbus 9243, 1006 AE Amsterdam.
• Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2008 Apr 12; 152 (15): 895-8.

AbstractRequests to place an unborn child under formal supervision was made in the course of two pregnancies. The first woman was 27 years old, she had a history of schizophrenia, forensic psychiatric care, and a personality disorder with impulsive aggressive behaviour. The second patient was 36 years old. She had a bipolar disorder due to which her firstborn had been placed in foster care. In the first case, formal supervision for the unborn child ensued. In the second case the request was initially denied, but due to the disordered domestic situation was granted ten days after birth. Prior to birth, a relevant risk assessment based on maternal characteristics can be made. In the Netherlands it is possible to place a foetus under formal supervision after 24 weeks gestation. This may prevent hospitalization of a healthy newborn in an unhealthy environment which is poor in stimuli. It also prevents the stressful situation that may arise when parents threaten to take their newborn child from the hospital, pending the inquiry into the domestic situation.

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