Parenthood Behind Bars: The Reality of Childbirth in Prisons
By RIya Mahtani • September 20, 2021
Content warning: incarceration/sexual, reproductive, and racial violence
The 13th Amendment did not really outlaw slavery; it has continued to manifest and disguise itself through a multitude of oppressive systems. Mass incarceration serves as a modern form of slavery that continues to exploit Black communities for labor and limits their freedom. The criminal legal system is responsible for tearing families apart and leaving children without their caretakers.
The Dobbs decision[1] by the US Supreme Court in 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), stripped millions of Americans of their reproductive freedom, sparking a national uproar. The people who will be disproportionately affected by the overturn Roe v. Wade, a life-threatening setback in reproductive freedom, includes Black and Brown people, migrants, and, of course, pregnant people. In addition, incarcerated pregnant people are often very vulnerable because prisons across the country engage in inhumane practices like shackling people during childbirth and ignoring their pleas for help.[2] While conversations around mass incarceration have become mainstream, community organizers continue to call for support around the specific issues that pregnant people who are incarcerated experience. Therefore, as we continue to advocate for reproductive freedom, we must also remember to include those who are pregnant in prison due to the compounding impact of being incarcerated and a lack of access to reproductive justice. Jawharrah Bahar from Free Hearts, a fiscally sponsored project of The Praxis Project and organization run by formerly incarcerated women (more below), stated, "you know, women of color have more complications than that of other races and it's like our concerns are put on the back burner. You know, even not being incarcerated is challenging, but just being incarcerated and pregnant is like, you know, close to a death sentence."
Giving Birth in Prisons
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, nearly 58,000 pregnant people are incarcerated each year and many of them are forced to face childbirth alone.[3] In addition, pregnant people are subjected to unimaginable conditions when giving birth behind bars. The AMA Journal of Ethics cites a woman who gave birth while incarcerated and she describes her experience below:
“When they shackled me I had two handcuffs, one was on my wrist and the other one was attached to the bed…My leg and my arm were attached to the bed so there was no way for me to move and to try and deal with the labor pains. And the metal, cause when you’re swollen, it would just cut into your skin. I had bruises after the fact that stood on me for three weeks. I mean, purple bruises from my ankle and my wrist from them having them shackles and handcuffs on me. Even when I had to get an epidural, they didn’t take the shackles and the handcuffs off. I just had to bend over and just pray that I could stay in that position while they were putting that needle in my back through the whole procedure. Not once did he [the correctional officer] try and loosen them. And the doctor asked him, you know, ‘Can’t you take them off of her? She can’t go nowhere. She can’t walk. She’s not goin’ nowhere.’ ‘It’s procedure and policy. Can’t do it”[4]
This woman not only had to give birth alone—she was shackled and forced to endure unsafe and barbaric practices. Shackling and handcuffing a pregnant person is inhumane and poses a threat to the childbearer and the fetus. Unfortunately, these stories are fairly common.[5] For example, in our conversation with Jawharrah Bahar she shared that she knows “someone that was pregnant while incarcerated..and to this day, they still have fluid around their ankles from being, you know, shackled.” Prisons across the country do not have proper policies in place that allow pregnant individuals to receive adequate healthcare or general help.[6] Jawharrah also shared, “And it's like, it's really hard to get you know, the care you need when you're incarcerated, you're gonna eat bologna sandwiches and oranges for snacks. And for vitamin C they were giving me TUMS chewables.”
The few prisons that do have policies in place often only pay lip-service to the actual issue, still leaving many pregnant people without critical services. According to data from the ACLU, 23 out of 50 state prisons do not provide proper screening or treatment for high risk pregnancies.[7] Therefore, pregnant people in prison often face a high risk of miscarriage, preterm infants, and postpartum depression.[8] The AMA Journal of Ethics cites that 10 states have passed policies that prohibit the use of restraints on pregnant women in labor and The Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Departments of Corrections in 13 states have passed internal policies with the purpose of prohibiting the shackling and handcuffing of pregnant people.[9] In a research article published in the Columbia University School of Public Health student journal, a 26 year old woman named Diana Sanchez was forced to give birth by herself despite her asking for help numerous times.[10] According to the journal, Denver County Jail (where Diana was incarcerated) has a codified labor and delivery protocol, and yet she was still not given adequate healthcare and was forced to welcome a baby into this world alone.[11] This case is one that proves that the policies in place are not being implemented and pregnant people are forced to face brutal conditions daily.
Life After Giving Birth
For many incarcerated people, life after giving birth does not get any easier. Incarcerated individuals are often separated from their child less than 24 hours after birth, and the child is given to relatives or placed in foster care.[12] While the physical pain of giving birth in prison is unimaginable, the mental health of the childbearer may also deteriorate. According to the Essentials of Correctional Nursing, pregnant people in prison are more susceptible to postpartum depression because postpartum is often tied to a history of anxiety and depression.[13] In addition, a study done at Emory University shows that incarcerated pregnant people are only given one to two days to recover after birth while the recommended period of physical recovery is at least six weeks.[14] These individuals are forced to return to prison without any adequate health care or mental health counseling, forcing them to cope with not only the physical pain of giving birth, but also the horror of having their child taken away.
Healing
A research article titled Corrections officers' knowledge and perspectives of maternal and child health policies and programs for pregnant women in prison, written by Virginia Pendleton, Jennifer B Saunders, and Rebecca Shlafer, outlines programs that have been implemented in multiple states to increase access to healthcare for incarcerated pregnant individuals.[15] For example, the Prison Doula Project works to provide support and healthcare access to pregnant incarcerated individuals in Minnesota where family members are prohibited from being present during childbirth.[16] They host parenting classes and provide support before birth. In addition, members from the Prison Doula Project are present during childbirth, and are even there to provide support to the parent when the child is taken away.[17] The Prison Doula Project provides lifesaving resources and support for incarcerated individuals both in and out of prison.
Free Hearts is a Nashville-based organization that is entirely run by formerly incarcerated women.[18] Their goal is centered around supporting families and strengthening communities impacted by incarceration. Free Hearts has been at the forefront of the fight for policy reform around the shackling of pregnant people as well as other policies that support their overall health and wellbeing.[19] In addition, Free Hearts spearheads healing programs that advance the lives of many women and young girls through anger management, parenting support, cooperative business development, cognitive behavioral therapy, and leadership development courses along with counseling and mentorship.[20] These programs have also been implemented in schools where those affected by the incarceration of their loved ones can heal and grow in a safe environment.[21]
Organizations like The Prison Doula Project and Free Hearts work to heal families and communities that have been affected by mass incarceration and the lack of reproductive healthcare available to marginalized communities. By challenging inhumane policies and providing support for incarcerated individuals and their families, these organizations are able to save lives. Jawharrah from Free Hearts spoke to the reward of engaging in this work by naming that she enjoys “reaching goals, accomplishing the goal of getting [policies] passed! You know, seeing it all the way through...that's an accomplishment. Just knowing that you put your efforts and work and stuff in it and was able to make that goal come to pass, you know, and by executing and continuing the work, even when someone tells you no, you keep going anyway, until you get a yes."
It is crucial that we look at the ways in which we can reframe discussions around reproductive freedom and prison abolition to center the voices of incarcerated pregnant individuals. Today, we are witnessing reproductive justice being stripped away from individuals across the nation, but we must not forget those who already have so little access to their reproductive rights. Even with current policy reform, incarcerated individuals are forced to bring children into the world with no family present for love and support. How can we expect individuals to show up as parents when they are locked up?It is clear that reproductive freedom can only be achieved in conjunction with prison abolition.
To learn more about grassroot organizations engaging in prison abolition and reproductive justice please visit the websites below:
We would like to appreciate Jawharrah Bahar from Free Hearts for participating in an interview with us for this blog post.