A TEENAGE mother who gave birth after a short affair has asked a court to keep secret from the father that he has a baby girl.

The woman, now 20, went to the Court of Appeal after a county court ordered the father should be told.

The young mum, who was 19 at the time, hid her pregnancy from friends, colleagues and family before giving birth in secret and putting the baby girl up for adoption.

Lord Justice Thorpe, who ruled no details of identity or geography could be reported, heard how she drove in the dead of night this year to a hospital to have a voluntary Caesarean section.

Judges to rule on 'secret' baby

A teenage mum who hid her pregnancy and put her baby girl up for adoption is fighting a court battle to prevent a council informing the child's father.

The 19-year-old drove in the dead of a summer night this year to a hospital to have a voluntary Caesarean section.

She had kept her pregnancy secret from friends, colleagues and family throughout the term.

The child was the result of a short affair between her and a friend while both were "on the rebound" after long-term relationship breakdowns.

The mum put the child up for adoption, and the baby is currently in the voluntary care of the local authority while her appeal court battle gets under way.

The council considering the adoption proceedings applied to a county court judge for guidance as to whether or not they should consult the mum's parents about whether the child could stay in her natural family.

The child's maternal grandparents subsequently found out, after the grandfather became suspicious of a letter he received from social services.

He also discovered the baby's birth certificate at the local registry office.

The grandparents say they are willing to support the mum if she wants to bring up the child, and could even step in as carers themselves if she does not.

But the mum, who has recently turned 20, is fighting the authority's plans to assess the grandparents' suitability to care for the child - and also plans to assess the father, whose identity has since been ascertained, in the event that they are unsuitable.

She brought the case in front of three top judges, Lord Justice Thorpe, Lady Justice Auden and Lord Justice Lawrence Collins, at the Court of Appeal in London yesterday.

Due to the sensitivity of the case, Lord Justice Thorpe said he would impose "super-restrictions" on reporting of the case, banning identification of the mum, her parents, the child, the local authority, or even lawyers involved in the case.

Reserving his judgment on the case, Lord Justice Thorpe said everything should be done to make sure that the case was dealt with and concluded as soon as possible.

Querying the council's stance, he said the best thing for a child in "secret birth" cases such as this might be to have the child adopted as soon as possible after birth with "an already vetted model family".

The judge said he hoped to give judgment on the case within 14 days.

  • Fathers' rights protesters in York have spoken out about the case.

Fathers For Justice York co-ordinator, Martin Cotterell, said: "The Children's Act 1989 says the child should be put first, and if one parent is saying they want the child to be put up for adoption and they are saying no, they don't want the child, then the other parent - the father in this case - should surely be given a voice and the chance to offer that child love and devotion.

"I think what the court should consider is whether, when that child grows up, they could want to know about their biological parents, and could then be told that the courts withheld the knowledge of their existence from the father."