Protecting all vulnerable babies better - National safeguarding practice review into the death of baby Victoria Marten.
Protecting all vulnerable babies better - national review into the broader safeguarding issues raised by the death of baby Victoria Marten (February 2026).
This review was prompted by the tragic death of baby Victoria Marten in early 2023. There were many professional challenges in the years, months and weeks leading up to her birth. These challenges involved persistent parental non-engagement, concealed pregnancy, frequent moves and complex risks such as domestic abuse and serious offending.
Safeguarding unborn and highly vulnerable babies requires a proactive, relational and trauma-informed multi-agency system that anticipates risk and prepares for future pregnancies.
The key findings and recommendations are for everyone with a role in children’s safeguarding and child protection, and for people working with complex adults, to consider and act on.
Key themes the review identifies
Persistent non-engagement: across all pregnancies, the couple avoided assessments and withheld critical information.
Concealed pregnancies: at least three pregnancies were concealed or disclosed late, limiting safeguarding opportunities.
Domestic abuse is a core safeguarding concern and should be central to multi‑agency child protection planning.
Cross-border movement: frequent relocations disrupted continuity of care and complicated statutory oversight.
Escalating risk: each subsequent pregnancy involved greater concealment and disengagement, culminating in Victoria’s death.
Limited assessment opportunities: despite repeated proceedings, professionals were unable to complete robust assessments of parenting capacity or psychological needs.
Multi-agency co-ordination is essential when working with an individual who has a history of serious offending.
Recommendations
As anticipated, there are detailed recommendations for practice which will be implemented across updated guidance and legislation, such as Working Together to Safeguarding Children. An example recommendation is that the guidance should include a definition of trauma on which safeguarding partners, agencies and organisations can base their approaches to trauma-informed practice.
Recommendations relate to:
Protecting babies and unborn infants
Engaging parents
Managing child protections risks with serious offenders
Families who move
Domestic abuse
Action for inspectorates
We will digest the learning and come back to you with a more comprehensive analysis for practice in due course.
The full document, Protecting all vulnerable babies better can be found here.
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