Family and Friends Forum

Can we have a baby

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Lahdeedah

Member since
December 2023

1 post

Posted Tue December 19, 2023 8:40amReport post

Hi.



I am new here, but have browsed the forum in the past. My partners offence happened years before we met, but he was very open about it and given the circumstances (a dating site sting) I have always been very open about what happened and know full heartedly that that is not like him at all.



anyway, the topic of having children came up in conversation tonight and he got very upset. He is petrified we won't be able to have children and from what I have read. That is not the case. His SHOPO only states internet restrictions and to notify if we stay anywhere with children under the age of 18 for more than 12 hours.



what are the rules when it comes to our future? Will we be able to have a family?

Distressed and pregnant

Member since
November 2020

1005 posts

Posted Tue December 19, 2023 1:42pmReport post

Hi,

if you were to have a child you'd have social services involved most likely from early in the pregnancy as you will be required to inform your midwife at the booking in appointment. The level of involvement you have with them will depend on lots of factors; is he under probation and/or an offender manager still? How long does he have left on SHPO and sor? His risk level at the time, your understanding of his offending and your capability to acknowledge risk and protect your child from harm. They will most likely look at what your support network looks like, family and friends around you.

It is possible to have a normal family life with someone who is or has been on the sor but in some cases it requires a lot of work and there doesn't seem to be much consistency in how cases are handled. It's an unknown to be honest and until you find yourself in the situation of being pregnant and working with social services it's something that can't be predicted.
If it's something that both of you feel is what you'd like for your future then I'd recommend looking into courses that he can do if he hasn't already to understand how he came to the position he was in at the time of offending and things he has/will put in place to ensure he won't do it again. For yourself there are courses that you could do to gain knowledge about online offending, safeguarding courses and courses that you could do with any future children for example NSPCC pants work.

Sorry if this raises more questions than answers for you but each case is unique and as I said previously there isn't much consistency in how agencies work xxx