There have been nine hearings so far before the senior judge in East London Family Court, Carol Atkinson.
She said in December that Baby Elsa was living with an “ongoing state of uncertainty”, and it was not possible for carers to “progress the relationship” with her older siblings while the proceedings were still going on.
Professor Lorraine Sherr of University College London has made a study of children abandoned at birth.
She said the delay in the court process was a “double whammy” for the little girl.
“She can’t get on with her new life, or build relationships with her siblings,” she said. “Nor does she know who her parents are.”
She said children who are abandoned at birth can spend many decades searching for their parents, even well into their 70s and 80s.
