ericaincarceratedwomen
The Incarceration of Pregnant Women in the U.S
Spreading awareness of the hardships pregnant women face within the prison system-- Erica Gaskin
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Terms to Know
Amnesty International– A global movement of more than 10 million people in over 150 countries and territories who campaign to end abuses of human rights.
BOP- BOP is the abbreviation for Federal Bureau of Prisons.
8th amendment- The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects against imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.
Prenatal care- The health care you get while you are pregnant such as a physical exam, weight checks, ultra sounds, etc.
Postpartum- Following childbirth or the birth of young.
MBU's aka Mother Baby Units- MBUs are designed to keep mothers and their babies together. Specialist staff nurture and support the mother- infant relationship on the unit at the same time as the mother has treatment for her mental illness. MBUs can admit women in late pregnancy and at any point until their baby is one year old.
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Alter your Perspective
My goal for this presentation is to provide insight and to bring into perspective of the struggles and reality of what some women may go through within the prison system. It is more than placing labels on them as "criminals" or having the assumption that "they put themselves into this situation" but it is looking at them in a humane way. Treating them as humans and not another statistic in the system. Alter your point of view and keep an open mind as you learn more about what it means to be a pregnant woman in an institution.
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Who Makes Up the Prison System?
"Women who face the greatest likelihood of incarceration are disproportionately non-Hispanic black and Hispanic"
(Bronson 2019)
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The Lack of Representation
"Despite what is known about the risks for adverse pregnancy-related outcomes (ie, hemorrhage, preterm birth, maternal mortality) and how they coincide with risks for incarceration, little data on the prevalence of pregnancy or pregnancy-related outcomes among women in prison or jail are available. To provide pregnancy-related services and accommodations (eg, additional calories at mealtime, appropriate prenatal care, special housing, or a bottom bunk) and optimize pregnancy outcomes for these vulnerable women, accurate and comprehensive pregnancy data are needed. This commentary is designed to bring attention to the lack of data on maternal health among women in prison and jails and offer suggestions to remedy these gaps"
(Bronson 2019)
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"The number of females in prisons and other correctional facilities in the United States has steadily increased over the years, even though the adult correctional population declined by almost 2%"
(Wismount 2000)
however...
"Correctional facilities are not mandated to track or report pregnancy-related data, and most facilities do not have any routine process for collecting such information."
(Tenkku, Trivedi, and Anakwe 2018)
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"Under the Eighth Amendment, all inmates are entitled to care for “serious medical needs” as described in Estelle v. Gamble. Meeting the health care needs of pregnant incarcerated women, however, can be difficult in a system originally designed for males"
(Friedman, Kaempf, and Kauffman 2020)
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History of Shackling-- why do we do it?
SHACKLING PREGNANT INMATES WAS A COMMON PRACTICE IN THE UNITED STATES BEFORE 2008
"Amnesty International representatives visited a hospital in California where local prisons hospitalized women who were either in labor or had just given birth. Every inmate in the room Amnesty International visited was shackled to the bed by leg restraints, despite the fact that the ward was locked and four armed guards were present. Even in states where correctional policies exist, such as in New York’s Department of Corrections, women were routinely restrained."
(Glenn 2018)
WHY DO WE STILL DO IT?
"In contemplating the complexity of ethics and hypocrisy, many believe that considerable work-ethic practices are still being used as status quo because constructing new ones is difficult and time-consuming"
(Chit 2022)
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Risks Found with Shackling
“Pregnant incarcerated women already face a higher percentage of high- risk pregnancies due to the lack of adequate nutrition and prenatal care in prison.18 Shackling a woman during labor adds to the risks that come with any pregnancy, and increases the number of risks women already experience during labor and delivery.19 Medical professionals oppose the practice of shackling a woman during childbirth for many reasons, including that the practice is harmful to both mother and baby”
(Glenn 2018)
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"Incarcerated women frequently have risk factors for poor pregnancy outcomes."
(Friedman, Kaempf, and Kauffman 2020)
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Mother Baby Units
"Infants who remained with their mothers in the MBU were noted to have fewer anxious and depressive behavioral problems when they reached pre- school age than infants who were separated from their mothers"
(Friedman, Kaempf, and Kauffman 2020)
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