Introduction
Although the majority of prison inmates worldwide are men, women tend to be more vulnerable when incarcerated. One of the major vulnerability factors is pregnancy: it has been established that about 6% of female convicts are pregnant at the time of arrest (Shlafer, Hellerstedt, Secor‐Turner, Gerrity, & Baker, 2014). The focus of the present work is the examination of risks faced by incarcerated pregnant women, their children, and prisons; it also seeks to outline some ways to curb these risks.
Risks
To some women, expecting and giving birth in prison can be beneficial. This applies to the situations when the prison’s conditions are better than those the inmate used to live in. One has to consider the factors of the woman’s life before the imprisonment in the first place: prison can, in fact, provide better nutrition and living conditions, protect the pregnant inmate from her partners’ abuse, restrict her substance habits, etc.
However, the numerous risks the pregnant inmates are likely to face outweigh the beneficence. Women can receive inadequate pre- and post-natal care because the standards vary from state to state. They can experience severe stress when handcuffed or shackled, overwork themselves due to the work requirement inadequacy, and exacerbate their condition with illegal substances. Because the babies are usually taken away from them, they are at a greater risk of postpartum mental disorders (Shlafer et al., 2014).
While at the fetal stage, the babies can suffer from the mothers’ poor nutrition and restraint, as well as the substances trafficked illegally on the correctional facilities’ premises. After they are born, there is a possibility of an infectious disease while still being in the facility – again, because the standards of care can vary. They can either be given place at a child care unit or retrieved from the facility and admitted to an orphanage or caregivers. Such children often have behavioral and mental issues that remain unresolved.
Finally, the prison system is also prone to some pregnancy-related risks such as the diseases the inmates can potentially carry. They can face the risk of discipline being disrupted if the pregnant women become victims of the other inmates’ abuse. Besides, there is some evidence that low quality of prenatal and postpartum care is positively associated with recidivism in such women (Bard, Knight, & Plugge, 2016).
Risk management
While the situation with the prisoners’ children care remains uncertain, there are some ways to mitigate the risks related to the mothers. Research indicates that the natal and postpartum experience of such women was improved when enhanced care standards were adopted. Providing such women with personal space and organizing community care upon release reduced the frequency of complications and substance abuse when imprisoned and shortened the risk of recidivism (Bard et al., 2016).
Such interventions can be personalized to meet the needs of single mothers, women of color, drug addicts, and other marginalized categories. The benefit will be twofold: the prisons’ discipline management will be more efficient with the inmates’ requirements met, and the number of recidivism cases is likely to decrease as well.
Conclusion
The proposed interventions are quite generalized due to the lack of sufficient data, and they are likely to be costly. However, when the pregnant mothers’ safety and the prisons’ smooth workflow are concerned, the benefits seem to outweigh the costs.
References
Bard, E., Knight, M., & Plugge, E. (2016). Perinatal health care services for imprisoned pregnant women and associated outcomes: a systematic review. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 16, 285.
Shlafer, R. J., Hellerstedt, W. L., Secor‐Turner, M., Gerrity, E., & Baker, R. (2014). Doulas’ Perspectives about Providing Support to Incarcerated Women: A Feasibility Study. Public Health Nursing, 32(4), 316-326.