🔗 Share this article

A human rights activist, at 35 weeks pregnant, was detained near her residence in early 2024. Charged with a crime of "illicit association", she was jailed without evidence. Three weeks later, her family were contacted to retrieve the remains of her newborn baby. The reason of death remains unexamined, and her loved ones has no idea the circumstances or if she was given any postnatal care.

A Global Problem

Situations like these are far from uncommon in prisons globally. Women carrying children are often subjected to deplorable conditions and denied medical attention. Miscarriages occur, others deliver and give birth alone in a prison cell. Sadly, some babies perish in custody.

"Nations assume it’s a small number of women so it’s not an issue, but that is incorrect," notes a legal advocate working on female imprisonment.

"Detention is a terrible environment for women, especially not for someone who is pregnant," she adds. "Extensive studies that indicates how harmful it is. Many facilities were built with male inmates in mind, so women were an afterthought."

Ignored Global Standards

Over 15 years since the establishment of international guidelines for the handling of female prisoners. These guidelines specify that prison should be a last resort for pregnant women and that non-custodial sentences should be the first choice. They also ban the use of restraints on women during labour.

However, these guidelines are routinely ignored around the world. "This is not considered a global gender-equality priority," argues the expert. "It remains hidden, and there’s a lot of stigma and stereotyping."

Severe Hardships in Packed Prisons

In certain nations, conditions for pregnant prisoners are reported to be "really critical". Contact with relatives have been prohibited, and civil society are barred from entry. Accounts with ex-inmates describe beatings, torture, and being deprived of basic supplies. Some are forced into trading sex with guards for nourishment or medical supplies.

"Our organisation has recorded pregnancy losses and the death of four babies … it is certain there are more," reports a local lawyer.

Reports also indicate women who were shackled to medical beds while in labor and gave birth while observed by male officers.

Severe Overpopulation and Its Consequences

Data lists some nations as having the most severe overcrowding levels in the globe. Female inmates are especially at risk to these situations. "There is seldom enough space to fully lie down," explains a advocate. "There is a chronic lack of access to essentials."

Expectant inmates have been handcuffed to beds prior to delivery. Conditions for caring for an infant back in prison are alarming, as shown by reports of babies dying from pneumonia and severe malnutrition behind bars.

Stories from Different Continents

In one African country, a former inmate recalls being in a cell with pregnant women. Doors were locked overnight. When someone went into labour at night, the women were forced to manage on their own. "We begged. Others were praying. Others were banging on the ground and the doors, screaming: ‘Please come, somebody’s in labour!’"

Such events also happen in wealthier countries. For example, a young woman lost her daughter after giving birth unassisted in a prison cell. Her calls for help went unanswered for an extended period, and she was had to bite through the umbilical cord on her own.

Turning Trauma into Change

Some women have decided to use their traumatic ordeals to drive reform. In the US, a woman who lost her pregnancy in her prison cell set up an organisation. Her work has successfully pushed for laws that ban restraints and isolation for pregnant inmates in multiple states.

A separate account comes from Argentina. A woman discovered she was pregnant shortly after being given a prison term. When it came time to give birth, officers shackled her legs to the hospital bed. Hospital staff performed a C-section. While still groggy, they offered to perform sterilization. "Why would you want to have more children, if you’re a inmate?" was the response.

"My ordeal was medical abuse during childbirth. It should not have occurred, but this is what women in prison go through," she says. This trauma later informed official guidelines around childbirth in detention.

Alternatives and Solutions

Other countries have implemented measures regarding expectant mothers in the legal system. Among them are:

• Evaluating alternatives to detention for defendants who are primary caregivers, expecting, or nursing mothers.
• Introducing home detention as an option to being held before trial, especially for expectant mothers.
• Permitting the deferral of prison terms for women who are pregnant.

Advocates and those who have been incarcerated believe that, often, pregnant women ought not to be in prison at all. "We must ask whether women should be prosecuted for many issues in the first place," says the expert.

"Community-based solutions that tackle the root causes of women coming into contact with the justice system – for example, poverty, violence and drugs – are really what we should be investing in."