What would you do if someone stole your child?

Imagine ...

You're pregnant. JOY!

You have dreamt of becoming a mother.

But then child welfare comes into your life. You have a diagnosis...

MS (Multiple Sclerosis).

And the child welfare service does not care that you have a mild, atypical variant. That you last had a seizure in 2013.

The child welfare service asks you to take a cognitive test. And even though you are heavily pregnant and stressed, you score within the normal range. So - they put the report in a drawer - and leave it there.

Photo: "Angel" from an exhibition in Gamlebyen, Fredrikstad. Private photo.

How would you feel?

• Angry?
• Afraid?
• Panicked?

Just wait. It gets worse.

Your beautiful baby is taken to a temporary foster home when she is 8 days old. They make claims that any child psychology specialist would find highly dubious.

Using something called Neonatal Behavioral Observation System (NBO), which was intended as an observational model examining the relationship between parent and newborn, this was one of the foster home's observations:

When performing NBO, the girl showed on a couple of occasions that she was overwhelmed and needed support.

She showed signs of being uncomfortable by hiccuping, turning away and wandering with her eyes.

It is important that the girl has caregivers who are sensitive in relation to the girl's threshold for stimulation and activity, so that the caregivers can give her adapted support when similar situations arise.

Would you be concerned if your days-old child hiccuped, turned away and had "wandering eyes"? Could it be that she had a tummy ache, and wasn't "overwhelmed"? Or that being taken from her mother and father was a traumatic experience?

Child welfare services demands that you and the father of the child bring her to a so called "family-home". If not, they will sue for custody.

You don't experience that you get any support and guidance. You are under scrutiny since day 1. After 14 days, you are asked to move out, and the father stays for three more months.

Then the child welfare service gives the father an ultimatum. "You must choose between mother or child".

He chose the child. Then, it became too difficult for him to have sole custody. So his mother steps in.

It could be a good, temporary solution.

But then: you do not get to see your beautiful girl until she is nearly two. No birthdays. No Christmas Eve. No walks in the park.

From Resmaa Menakem

There are reasons that the Norwegian Child Welfare System have had 40 cases in the European Court of Human Rights

I have three children. And I'm a child welfare worker. Among Norway's most public - you can apply to join my Facebook group, "Ask a child welfare educator" - "Sp?r en barnevernpedagog" if you wish (Norwegian group). You can also search for "mAncient" and "H?kon Rian Ueland" on Google, and you will find me.

If anyone had treated me like this mother has been treated ...

I have seen many cases of system abuse. But this is one of the worst I've seen. And I have seen a lot.

Eventually, the mother gets to see her child. Supervised. Three times per year, for two hours. Child Protection Services are still involved in the case, even though they have no formal role. And in the same court case, she loses her parental rights.

I have known the mother for close to two years. I have witnessed her fight. I have heard her cry. I have seen how she has wanted to give up. I have spoken with her father, who has all but given up. With her boyfriend, who trusts her implicitly when it comes to being a step-mum to his own daughter.

It is time to give her back her dignity. To start the road towards uniting mother and child. In a closely supervised process that takes into account the attachment the girl has made with the "unofficial" foster mother.

I have created a GoFundMe-drive. Please donate and share.

Our budget:

The legal team: $9-11.000. If the case needs to go to Strasbourg, this will be higher. This team consists of a lawyer and a legal assistant (who is also an MD with 20 years of experience) from Anden?s.

My own work: I have donated my time for two years now. There are limits to how long I can work pro bono. It is difficult to estimate how much time I will have to use, but to illustrate: the paperwork alone is 1300 pages ... and before the process in the appeal court, I will have to read it all. So a conservative estimate is the same as for the legal team.

Accountant: I have a good accountant in mind. Will update once I have negotiated a price.

I appreciate all shares, comments and suggestions. All donations are processed through Stripe, and deposited into my client account in DNB, company name Earth House.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring. And thank you for your donation!