A SERIAL drink-driving mother who rolled a car containing nine unrestrained children, seriously injuring three, blew .233 per cent after the crash and now faces the prospect of a jail term.

After drinking Jim Beam and beer in a Rockbank paddock with her estranged partner - a father of 15 - Tanya Chilly, 35, was speeding, unlicensed and swerving down a heavily pot-holed road when she lost control and rolled the Mitsubishi 4WD she was driving, Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard today.

The Pajero contained 10 children, nine of whom aged three to 10 were not wearing seat belts, and the passengers included Chilly's seven children.

Of the three who were injured, one child suffered a broken leg requiring surgery, another sustained a bruised thorax, liver laceration and contusion to an eye while the third victim suffered a broken arm requiring surgery, prosecutor Ray Gibson said.

Mr Gibson said Chilly had three prior high-level drink driving convictions: 0.204 per cent and 0.206 per cent in 2005 and 0.139 per cent in 2004.

The children, two of whom spent up to two weeks in hospital, have now recovered from their injuries, the court heard.

Chilly, of Epping, who also has a prior conviction for having an unrestrained child in her car, has now lost care of her children who have been placed with foster families, Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge was told.

Defence lawyer Jill Prior said Chilly developed an alcohol addiction after leaving home at age 16 but had been abstinent since February and was being assisted by Aboriginal health services.

Ms Prior said although an intervention order was in place at the time, Chilly's estranged partner had demanded she visit him with their children at a paddock on Neale Rd, Rockbank on August 5 last year.

She had been the victim of continued abuse - including being stabbed and threatened with a hammer, and abandonment by the man who had two families involving two women and 15 children, the court heard.

Her decision to drive after drinking at the paddock was prompted by the children being hungry and making a trip to a local take-away food store, Ms Prior said.

"From her point of view (the decision) was the lesser of two evils.

"She was terrified to leave them there (with their father who had been passed out at one point)."

Ms Prior said although fortunate the injuries were not even more severe in the crash, Chilly had been a product of her past, particularly her reliance on an abusive relationship and resorting to alcohol to cope.

"The hold of this man over this woman is something that really defies belief."

Mr Gibson questioned whether Chilly was under duress to drive to the paddock, saying she failed to raise any threat from her former partner during her police interview in which she initially claimed she was not the driver.

Chilly pleaded guilty to nine charges of failing to properly restrain children in her car, drink-driving, unlicensed driving and three counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury.

Magistrate Lethbridge will consider further submissions this afternoon.