Pregnancy and incarceration: experiences and outcomes

Pregnancy and Prisons

Carolyn Lindsey was four months pregnant when she was incarcerated in a Texas prison for violating the terms of her probation on a drug charge. When she gave birth, Carolyn had a minute to coo at her daughter's tiny face before a prison guard whisked little Desiree Nicole away (Tomaso, "Pregnant Inmates").

Carolyn is part of a disturbing national trend - a rising number of pregnant inmates giving birth in prisons. In 1999, a prison survey conducted for the American Correctional Association found that more than 2,800 babies were born to female inmates in from 1997-1999 (Willing, "Babies Behind Bars").

In federal prison alone, statistics from the Bureau of Justice show that in 1998, the latest year when data is available, there were over 103 pregnant female inmates (ACLU, "Statistics Relating to Women..."). An estimated 13,000 women, typically young and unwed, are pregnant upon incarceration (Tomaso).

Most pregnant inmates are in jail relating to drug charges. As harsher drug measures mete out sentences for even non-violent offenses, the number of pregnant women in prisons is expected to rise.

When a pregnant woman like Carolyn Lindsey enters prison, the Bureau of Prisons provides an OBGYN examination and all her pre-natal and post-partum care. If a female inmate seeks to terminate a pregnancy, an abortion will be provided by the state (ACLU). Most inmates give birth in the prison infirmary or a nearby hospital.

In Texas, where Carolyn is incarcerated, as well as a majority of states, there are no provisions for keeping babies and incarcerated mothers together. After birth, the child is usually turned over to a relative, if a relative agrees to provide care until the mother is released. If no relative is available, the infant is placed in foster care until the mother is free and can seek custody. Finally, if the mother agrees, the baby can be put up for adoption (Tomaso).

Many experts recognize that this is not the ideal setting for both mothers and infants. Leslie Acoca, director of the Women and Girls Institute at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, believes this to be a shortcoming of a prison system unprepared for female prisoners, saying, "The system is set up to deal with male inmates, not pregnant and parenting female inmate" (Tomaso).

This lack of understanding for the needs of female prisoners is manifested in the practice of shackling the legs of female prisoners in labor. Shackling the legs together is a standard practice used when a prisoner is taken out of the facility, to prevent flight. However, a woman in labor needs mobility to assume the positions required to facilitate birth. Furthermore, shackles could cause dangerous complications for the baby. After protests concerned groups, the Department of Corrections is now reviewing its policy of shackling pregnant inmates (Legal Aid Advocates, "Shackles...").

While there is a tendency to dismiss the needs of female prisoners on the grounds that they are criminals, this view does nothing to address the needs of their children. The rise in the number of female inmates raises a difficult moral question - how can society punish mothers without invariable punishing their children?

Amnesty International estimates that there are over 200,000 children whose mothers are behind bars (Media Awareness Program, "U.S.: Women in Prisons"). Since most women's correctional facilities are located in far-flung places, most of these children never see their mother and wind up bouncing from one caretaker to another. (Bernstein, "Mommy, Why are We in Jail?")

These statistics have significant implications for the rest of society. After all, the costs of each child's foster care - an average of $18,00 a year - is shouldered by the taxpayers. Furthermore, children with a mothers behind bars are up to eight times more likely to engage in criminal behavior and wind up being behind bars as well, as juveniles and adults (Willing).

Several pioneering programs are being instituted to try to combat this sobering trend. In federal prisons, for example, qualified female inmates can serve under a Mothers and Infants Together (MINT) program. In this government-funded program, non-violent inmates who are not escape risks can serve their sentences in a halfway house facility three months before delivery until two months after the baby is born. This program is an attempt to develop a bond between the mother and the child by placing them in an environment together with other pregnant prisoners (ACLU).

Most states lack the facilities to care for newborns and most prison officials believe that it is harmful to expose babies to prison life. However, Washington state, New York and Nebraska have pioneering programs that allow newborns to remain with their inmate mothers, either in halfway houses or in the prison cells themselves (Bernstein).

These programs are open only to female inmates who are serving short sentences for non-violent and minor crimes. Through these prison nurseries, these babies, usually born to poor and single mothers, are able to receive good nutrition and medical care that is vital during the first months of life. Most babies leave the nurseries within 18 months, when their mothers are granted parole.

While critics lambaste the taxpayer money spent on the program, Nebraska officials point out that prison nursery costs average to only $11,000 a year, much less than the standard costs of an infant in foster care (Willing).