🔗 Share this article

A human rights activist, while she was, was arrested near her home in early 2024. Charged with a vague offense, she was held lacking proof. Three weeks later, her relatives were informed to retrieve the body of her infant child. The reason of death has not been investigated, and her loved ones has no idea the circumstances or whether she received any postnatal care.

A Global Issue

These tragic stories are alarmingly common in detention centers globally. Expectant mothers are often held in appalling situations and not given necessary care. Some miscarry, others deliver and give birth alone in a detention cell. Devastatingly, infants die while incarcerated.

"Governments think it’s a minority of women so it’s insignificant, but that is incorrect," says a lawyer working on female imprisonment.

"Detention is a terrible place for women, let alone someone who is expecting," she continues. "Extensive research that indicates how damaging it is. Numerous prisons were designed with male inmates in mind, so women were an secondary consideration."

Violated UN Rules

It has been 15 years since the establishment of international guidelines for the treatment of incarcerated women. These guidelines state that incarceration should be a final option for pregnant women and that alternatives to detention should always be considered. Furthermore, they forbid the use of shackles on women in childbirth.

Yet, these rules are routinely ignored globally. "This is not viewed as a global priority for women's rights," says the expert. "It remains hidden, and there’s a lot of shame and stereotyping."

Dire Situations in Overcrowded Systems

In certain nations, conditions for expectant inmates are described as "exceptionally severe". Contact with relatives have been prohibited, and civil society are barred from entry. Interviews with formerly incarcerated women reveal assaults, torture, and being deprived of essential items. Reports indicate some resort to exchanging favors with prison staff for food or medicine.

"We has documented pregnancy losses and the loss of several infants … it is certain there are more," says a local lawyer.

Reports also indicate women who were chained to medical beds during labour and gave birth while watched by male officers.

Overcrowding and Its Consequences

Data shows some nations as having the highest prison occupancy levels in the globe. Women are particularly vulnerable to these conditions. "There is seldom enough space to lie down properly," says a human rights outreach director. "There exists a persistent lack of access to basic items."

Pregnant prisoners have been handcuffed to hospital beds prior to delivery. Conditions for caring for an infant back in prison are worrying, as evidenced by cases of infants succumbing from pneumonia and malnourishment in custody.

Stories from Around the Globe

In Zambia, a past prisoner remembers being in a cell with pregnant women. Doors were secured overnight. If a woman went into labour at night, the women were left to manage on their own. "We begged. Others were asking for divine help. Others were banging on the ground and the doors, screaming: ‘Please come, somebody’s in labour!’"

These tragedies occur in wealthier countries. In one case, a young woman lost her daughter after giving birth alone in a prison cell. Her calls for help went unanswered for an extended period, and she was forced to sever the umbilical cord herself.

From Experience to Advocacy

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 advocacy group. Her work has successfully advocated for legislation that ban restraints and isolation for pregnant inmates in numerous jurisdictions.

Another story comes from Argentina. A woman discovered she was pregnant shortly after being given a prison term. During her delivery, officers chained her legs to the bed. Hospital staff performed a C-section. As she recovered, they suggested to sterilize her. "Why would you want to have more children, if you’re a inmate?" they asked.

"My ordeal was medical abuse during childbirth. What I experienced should not have occurred, but this is what women in prison endure," she says. This trauma later shaped provincial policies around childbirth in detention.

Alternatives and Solutions

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

• Considering alternatives to detention for defendants who are primary caregivers, expecting, or nursing mothers.
• Introducing house arrest as an option to being held on remand, particularly for expectant mothers.
• Allowing for the postponement of sentences for pregnant women.

Experts and those who have been incarcerated argue that, often, expectant mothers ought not to be in prison at all. "We must ask whether women should be criminalised for many issues in the first place," argues the expert.

"Community-based solutions that address the root causes of women entering the justice system – for example, poverty, abuse and substance issues – are really what we should be investing in."