Pregnant in Prison: 6 Shocking Realities

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crimefeed.com/2015/06/6-things-youll-experience-giving-birth-prison/
At any given time, between 6 and 10 percent of the approximate 113,000 women serving time in the United States are pregnant. Between 1977 and 2007, the number of women behind bars increased by 832%. That rise in incarcerated women equates to several thousand babies born in prison each year. For female prisoners, giving birth while serving time is often a distressing experience. Here’s what you might not know about having a baby while incarcerated.
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ctb95 said:
Another reason why the prison system needs reformed.
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I have trouble feeling bad for the women, considering that they’re in prison for a reason. Certainly we shouldn’t go out of our way to be cruel to them, especially if they’re pregnant; but being pregnant doesn’t mean you didn’t commit whatever crime landed you in prison in the first place.

I do think the amount of time they should be able to spend with the child should be extended, at least for non-violent offenders. That’s an important block of time, especially if the mother intends to remain active in the child’s life after their incarceration ends.
 
I showed this article to a friend and she says a relative of hers had a baby while in jail and was shackled and did not get to hold her baby at all. The lack of bonding time had a really negative effect on her. These women are still human. They don’t lose all their dignity and right to humane treatment because they committed a crime. This truly breaks my heart.
 
AClaire11 said:
I showed this article to a friend and she says a relative of hers had a baby while in jail and was shackled and did not get to hold her baby at all. The lack of bonding time had a really negative effect on her. These women are still human. They don’t lose all their dignity and right to humane treatment because they committed a crime. This truly breaks my heart.
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I agree that they’re still human, and they should (in most cases) get some bonding time with their child. That doesn’t change the fact that they’re in this position because of a decision they made which they need to answer for. That’s not being inhumane.

I can pity the women, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore proper precaution like taking measures to ensure not only the safety of the woman, but of her child and all the guards and medical professionals who have to interact with her. This is doubly true in cases where the woman was a violent offender.

I can feel bad for the woman while also believing that these measures are not inhumane, the two things are not mutually exclusive.
 
AClaire11 said:
I showed this article to a friend and she says a relative of hers had a baby while in jail and was shackled and did not get to hold her baby at all. The lack of bonding time had a really negative effect on her. These women are still human. They don’t lose all their dignity and right to humane treatment because they committed a crime. This truly breaks my heart.
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Incarceration implies somewhat of a loss of “dignity” in any case.

However, in the interests of the child, some mercy would not go amiss.

ICXC NIKA
 
A friend of mine adopted a family of 5 boys.
Their mother went to prison and had two more children. The state of Texas called her and said “you want them?”
She said yes, was there the day they were born, and she adopted each of them as well.
To my knowledge she has not had any more children in prison.
Many of the kids had different fathers.
Presumably the fathers of the 2 girl babies were prison personnel.
She had no conjugal visits, as she was never married.

None of the children have expressed interest in meeting or communicating with their mother.
Apparently the home life of the boys was pretty bad.
They had no pictures of their fathers.
 
Keep in mind there’s a big difference between jail and prison, and many incarcerated pregnant women haven’t been convicted of anything. Even so, any one of these warrants in-depth discussion, and it’s an area where reasonable people can disagree, though I almost always fall on the side of criminal justice reform.

That said, not telling a woman her due date or what day she’s scheduled to have surgery should be considered a human rights violation (I would say that about any major medical procedure). People deserve to be able to mentally and emotionally prepare for life altering, high-risk, and emotionally taxing situations without a dark cloud of uncertainty. You don’t lose all rights upon arrest or conviction, and this should definitely be one you keep.

Besides, if modern jails and prisons can’t keep 9 month pregnant women or women who have just delivered in custody, I want my tax dollars back.
 
I have always liked that website / organization and their mission, but their discussion boards gets my blood pressure going. Exchanges can be brutal over hot button issues. That is one of the things I like about CAF. You can make your point civilly or you don’t make it at all.

I don’t have much sympathy for the violent offenders in this situation, but I do for those who made bad choices while battling addiction who are NOT violent or sadistic criminals. There are addicts and alcoholics who are not violent. The punishment should fit the crime. I would imagine in at least some cases, the prison staff might make things a little more bearable for some, at least I hope so.
 
I was going to say that myself…there’s a huge difference between women in jail and those in prison.
Prison is way more brutal, and I feel like many of the children are given up.
I’ll have to look around and see what the stats are…
 
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