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Pregnant People & Incarceration

*Please note: This page is still in progress. More links will be posted soon.*

(in alphabetical order)

 

This study describes the prevalence, health, and birth outcomes of incarcerated pregnant individuals in California between 2011 and 2015. Incarcerated individuals have greater likelihood of negative birth outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to utilize a unique cohort of infants exposed prenatally to maternal incarceration to investigate children’s caregiving experiences in infancy. The researchers analyzed closed and open-ended survey questions from caregivers of 57 infants collected at birth and when infants were three, six, nine, and twelve months old to ascertain the incidence of change in caregivers, why change occurred, and any predictors of change.

  • Caregiver Tip Sheet for Pregnant and Parenting Youth by Dep’t of Children Youth and Families (DCYF), DCYF CWP 0025, DSHS 22-1537

This publication describes responsibilities and obligations of caregivers caring for youth in care who are themselves pregnant or parenting children.

This study aimed to explore pregnant migrant women’s experiences of living in detention. Results suggest that migrant women have very poor experiences in detention. Four key themes emerged: ‘challenges to accessing UK healthcare’, ‘exacerbation of mental health conditions, ‘feeling hungry’ and ‘lack of privacy’.

The goal of this study was to describe contact between incarcerated women and their infants (from birth until 4 months) and identify barriers to contact to inform policies that would promote developmentally appropriate contact during infancy, a sensitive period for bonding and attachment. Two key themes emerged from qualitative data that further characterized caregivers’ experiences with communication: “Mothers’ desire for connection and collaboration” and “Caregivers’ strategies for resilience in the face of barriers.” While both mothers and caregivers desired mother/infant contact and worked to establish it, institutional barriers were significant. The quality of contact between incarcerated postpartum women and their infants was inadequate to facilitate attachment relationships.

Pregnant and postpartum incarcerated women are at risk of adverse health outcomes due to pre-incarceration risks and exposures during incarceration. This study characterized maternal healthcare and neonatal outcomes among incarcerated pregnant women in Georgia from August 2020 to March 2025.

This study compares pregnant people’s experiences of pregnancy and parenting in prison before and during the pandemic in order to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on this population. COVID-19 introduced new stressors and exacerbated preexisting stressors around participants’ reproductive and parenting experiences. 

In this article, the authors address the various ways nurses can best-practice support for an interactional relationship between the parent-child dyad (the unit composed of the caregivers assuming the parenting role and the child) during the early years when the readiness for optimal potential exists. 

  • Jail Incarceration and Birth Outcomes by Janice F Bell, Frederick J Zimmerman, Mary Lawrence Cawthon, Colleen E Huebner, Deborah H Ward, Carole A Schroeder, 81 Journal of Urban Health 4, 630-644 (2004)

This study examined the relationships between jail incarceration during pregnancy and infant birth weight, preterm birth, and fetal growth restriction. Women incarcerated during pregnancy had progressively higher odds of low birth weight and preterm birth through age 39 years; conversely, jail detainees older than 39 years were less likely than controls to experience low birth weight or preterm birth. For women in jail at all ages, post-release maternity case management was associated with decreased odds of low birth weight, whereas prenatal care was associated with decreased odds of preterm birth.

This paper looks specifically at how women’s reproduction is experienced and managed by carceral institutions, and how mass incarceration itself is a reproductive technology. Based on ethnographic fieldwork at a women’s jail, I explore pregnancy and motherhood behind bars. Certain types of mothering are foreclosed, while an idealized version of maternal identity is simultaneously promoted. For many incarcerated women, jail is the only place where they can experience this form of motherhood, as forces of structural violence outside of jail often limit their ability to parent, such as involvement of child welfare institutions, addiction and homelessness. The myriad ways in which incarcerated women’s reproduction is suppressed and enabled is a critical lens through which to understand how institutions and forces of racial oppression reinforce idealized notions of motherhood while making them categorically unattainable.

Researchers sough to examine impacts on birth outcomes of racialized mass incarceration practices in Louisiana. Finding in part there was a significant 3% higher risk of preterm birth among black women associated with an interquartile range increase in the parish-level incarceration prevalence of black individuals, independent of other factors. Adjusting for the prevalence of index crimes did not substantively change the results of the models.

This paper will review the state of the science on maternal health and incarceration. The authors provide a historical context on women, pregnancy, and mothers as it relates to mass incarceration, considering both structural racism and reproductive justice; discuss existing research that documents care, treatment, and outcomes of individuals who are incarcerated while pregnant or postpartum in the United States; and discuss the implications of carceral exposure on birthing people and their families. 

This statistical brief presents findings on maternal healthcare and pregnancy prevalence and outcomes for persons in the custody of state or federal correctional authorities in the United States. It reports statistics on pregnancy testing and positive tests among female admissions; pregnancy prevalence and outcomes by type; pregnancy-related training for staff, emergency transportation protocols, and medical services; special accommodations and support services for pregnant and postpartum women; and provision of and participation in nursery or residential programs in which mothers reside with their children.

This report explores how female incarceration, specifically in the context of motherhood and pregnancy, has ripple effects on their children and families, has long-term impacts on their own health, and is discriminatory – which, in turn, contributes to the narrative of “unfit motherhood” that extends beyond the criminal legal system and compounds existing inequalities. This report also seeks to highlight the experiences of women, motherhood, and incarceration from a Black feminist and intersectional perspective.

This study examined population-level associations between paternal jail incarceration during pregnancy and infant birth outcomes using objective measures of health and incarceration in New York City. Finding that paternal incarceration is a potential stressor and source of trauma for pregnant women and infants.

To examine perinatal outcomes including maternal mental health well-being, birth weight, and preterm birth, an integrated search of the literature was conducted. Findings related to time in prison during gestation, birth weight, and maternal mental health well-being. 

Washington Appleseed, in collaboration with attorneys and interns at Foster Pepper PLLC, has created this pamphlet for pregnant and parenting young women involved in Washington State’s juvenile system. The authors hope that this pamphlet will help young women understand their rights and obligations so they can make healthy and informed choices. This pamphlet is not a substitute for legal advice. While no one can tell youth what choices to make, their attorney, or other trusted adults can help get answers to their questions and help youth make the most informed decision.

  • Pregnancy and Parenting in Prison (Chapter 24), by Rebecca Schlafer, Joanna Woolman, and Mariann A. Howland in The Oxford handbook of developmental psychology and the law, A. D. Redlich & J. A. Quas (Eds.), Oxford University Press 477–491 (2023)

In this book, eminent scholars from varied disciplines detail how developmental science and the law shape one another across the lifespan. This chapter explores how developmental science and the law interact and shape the experiences of pregnant women and mothers involved in the criminal legal system and their children before, during, and after incarceration. It considers how several areas of law, including criminal law, family law, and child welfare, coalesce to impact parents and children. 

The objectives of this study were to assess publicly available COVID-19 communications and guidance from national organizations to better understand guidance for pregnant and postpartum people who were incarcerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors noted gaps in the consideration for pregnant and postpartum people who are incarcerated, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors also make recommendations to strengthen the care of pregnant and postpartum people who are incarcerated and promote health equity.

In this research article, the authors share information from pregnant people in jails and prisons about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their care and treatment as pregnant and postpartum individuals in carceral settings. The authors conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing disparities and inequitable access to perinatal care for incarcerated people and make policy and practice recommendations to improve the health and wellbeing of incarcerated pregnant people and their babies.

This blog presents three categories of state policy approaches, with examples, and offers evidence on their effectiveness, based on available literature and correspondence with an addiction medication professional.