A couple who saw their daughter taken into care based on evidence from an acolyte of Prof Sir Roy Meadow, have begun an appeal against the decision. Mumtaz and Dildar Ali, from Birmingham, are now in a race against time before a hearing in April which may see her permanently adopted. The parents of two-year-old Carma yesterday appealed to the High Court in Birmingham for leave to appeal against the decision to put their daughter into care and they are now waiting for a decision. Within three months of their daughter Carma's birth in July 2001, the family claim she suffered four attacks of breathing difficulties. That October, a week after the fourth occasion, a paediatrician told them an investigation was taking place by Birmingham Social Services. Within hours, they were told a Family Court action was taking place based on the accusation that Mrs Ali had tried to smother her baby. The child was then removed from them and since November 2003 the couple's access to Carma has been limited to two visits per week. "She had lots of things like colic and stomach ache, constant vomiting and crying," said Mrs Ali, aged 20. "It didn't seem normal. "The first time it happened she was really demanding, crying and crying until she got her feed. By the time I got back from getting her bottle her mouth was open and she was not making a noise. "She was just floppy on the bed and really weak and you could barely hear her breathe. "Her face was dark and blue around her lips. Her whole body was dark. I didn ' t know what was happening." Each time they took her to Birmingham Children's Hospital but no underlying illness was found. After the fourth occasion social services intervened and Carma was sent to live with relatives, with Mrs Ali allowed supervised access. "When Carma was with her grandmother the baby had a similar incident when Mumtaz wasn't even there," said Mr Ali, aged 22. "When we explained what had happened the doctors said it was a viral illness." The couple have since questioned their parents and other relatives about any history in their family of attacks similar to that experienced by Carma. "We now have evidence that her illness could be congenitive," said Mrs Ali. "We researched into our family background and there have been 24 sudden infant deaths in my family alone. None of this was known or investigated." During the family court hearing Dr Paul Davis, who co-authored a medical paper on Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy with Prof Meadow, examined neither Mrs Ali nor Carma. Prof Meadow has been discredited after a series convictions of child abuse based on his evidence have been overturned by the High Court, ruling his theory on Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy to be unproven. A spokeswoman for Birmingham Social Services said they could not discuss individual cases but the safety of a child was their priority. Mother hopeful over baby death inquest A mother accused of killing her son while suffering from Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy said she was 'optimistic' about the outcome of an inquest which is finally to take place. Karen Haynes, aged 36, saw her second daughter, Emma, taken into care 20 minutes after her birth, following testimony from Professor Roy Meadow. When her son Michael died in 1999, 11 months went by before the family even knew that the medical establishment was suspicious about his death. Mrs Haynes, who is now 16 weeks pregnant with her third child, last night said she expected Birmingham social services to try to take the new baby into care. The inquest into the death of her son was opened five years ago and an investigation involving police and coroner's officers is continuing. Last week the couple met Birmingham coroner, Aiden Cotter, to discuss who would be giving evidence at the inquest in March. Mrs Haynes has requested that Prof Meadows give evidence at it. "We have waited and waited and waited for this, to hear that our baby died from natural causes." "We are really pleased that it is finally actually happening. We have had to put on hold trying to launch an appeal to get Emma back while we focus on getting that overwith and having the new baby. On the whole we are quite optimistic about it. But there it is nerve-wracking as well because apart from everything else we will have to relive everything again. "We expect them to try and take the new baby from us, because as far as they are concerned, nothing has changed." | 
