After Britain's leading cot death specialist ws discredited, the Government announced a review into thousands of cases where children have been taken into care because of fears that parents may harm them.

One of these parents talks to Christen Pears.

NAOMI Grant loves her children and there isn't a day goes by without her thinking about them. She wonders where they are, what they're doing, how they're feeling. She wonders how much they've grown and how they're doing at school - but wondering is all she can do. Five years ago, her son and daughter were taken into care and she hasn't seen them since.

A visitor to Naomi's house wouldn't know she had children. There are no photographs of Michael and Sarah in her living room, but she needs no visible reminder of their existence. They have literally become her life. The only thing that makes her get out of bed in the morning is the thought of bringing them home. Without that, she says, she wouldn't want to carry on.

Naomi is one of thousands of parents whose children were taken into care during the last 15 years because of fears they might harm them. But, following the successful appeal of Angela Cannings, a mother who had been jailed for the murder of her two baby sons, the Government has promised to look into the convictions of 258 women for murdering their babies, as well as up to 5,000 civil cases.

The review was sparked by the discrediting of Professor Sir Roy Meadow, a key witness in the Cannings case and an expert on Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP), a condition where mothers harm their children to attract attention to themselves.

"We've been going through a living hell and this review is the first hope we've had," says Naomi. "I think the only thing I've got left is hope and I don't think I'd be here today if I didn't have the hope that my children are going to come home one day."

Naomi's story is so horrific it is almost beyond belief, and yet she tells it calmly. Small and pale, her feet encased in fluffy pink socks, she looks fragile but she has become strong. Her voice barely wavers as she talks, betraying little of the overwhelming anger and sadness she feels.

"At first you just spend all your time crying in a heap. You think you can't go on, but then you pull yourself up and you start to fight," she says.

And she certainly has fought, bombarding the Government with letters, writing to the Press and working with other parents in a similar situation to raise awareness of their plight.

Naomi's nightmare began in 1998 when she became concerned about the treatment of her son, Michael, who suffers from cerebral palsy and autism. Unhappy with the care he was receiving in the North-East, she asked for a second opinion and was referred to Professor David Southall, a paediatric specialist based in Staffordshire. She and Michael travelled to Stoke-on-Trent where they met Prof Southall, an expert in cot death and MSBP who had studied with Roy Meadow.

"We had a 15-minute consultation and he didn't have any medical records but he wrote secretly to our GP to say that this was a case of MSBP," says Naomi. The implication was that Naomi was pretending her son was ill to draw attention to herself, and that she could go on to hurt him.

"I didn't know anything about what he was doing at the time. I thought he would be able to help Michael."

Michael was invited to spend two weeks at the hospital for assessment but Naomi began to suspect something was wrong, particularly when Prof Southall began asking questions about her two brothers and sister who had died in infancy from cystic fibrosis more than 30 years earlier. He also questioned her mother, Jean, dragging up painful memories.

The family returned home after the two-week period, disappointed that Michael had not received more help, but completely unprepared for what would happen a few months later.

In September 1998, two social workers appeared at the family's home with a report prepared by Prof Southall. Michael, who was ten, was assessed then placed on the At Risk register and taken into care.

"To say I was stunned was an understatement. I just couldn't believe it was happening. Michael was crying all the time because he couldn't understand it. He kept asking to come home."

Early the following year, social services began proceedings to have nine-year-old Sarah taken into care, on the grounds that she might also be at risk. Terrified of losing her granddaughter, Jean went on the run with the little girl. After four weeks, she contacted the family to say she was hiding out in Scotland. They went to collect her but were followed by the police and arrested.

"Sarah was frantic. She was sobbing her heart out and clinging onto me but I told that she had to go with the social workers and that we would have her home soon. Telling her that is one of my biggest regrets because look what happened."

Sarah was taken into care and Naomi, her husband and mother were charged with abduction. They were later jailed, serving three months of their nine-month sentences.

In the meantime, Naomi was still fighting in the courts to get her children back. Prof Southall was an expert witness, accusing both Naomi and her mother of suffering from MSBP. It was suggested that Jean had suffocated her own children, although the post-mortem examinations showed they had all died from cystic fibrosis-related conditions and charges were never brought.

The court granted full care orders for both Michael and Sarah, and Naomi hasn't seen them since. She has no idea where they are living, although she is allowed to write to them four times a year. She never receives a reply.

"I don't really care about myself and what it's done to me but it's what it's done to my kids and what it's taken from them. I can't bear to think about how they feel or how many nights they've cried themselves to sleep."

Earlier this week, Minister for Children Margaret Hodge said in cases where children had been living with an adoptive family for several years it may not be in their best interests to return them to their families, but Naomi has no doubts.

"I can understand when you're talking about younger children or children who were adopted as babies, but not mine. I'm their mum and I'll always be their mum. When I think of how easy it was for them (social services) to take them away, I don't understand why they can't return them in the same way."

She is currently putting together a legal team to help her launch an appeal, and she hopes the Government review will reunite her, and hundreds of other parents, with their children.

She says: "What happened was very wrong. The power these doctors had was unbelievable and it destroyed people's lives - and they got away with it. "

"You can't put that right. I'm never going to get that time back that I lost with my children but, hopefully, this will prevent it happening to someone else. No one should have to go through what we have."

* The names in this article have been changed.