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An advocate, while she was, was arrested near her home in early 2024. Accused with a vague offense, she was imprisoned lacking proof. Weeks afterward, her family received a call to collect the body of her infant child. The reason of death remains unexamined, and the family remains unaware what happened or whether she obtained any care after birth.

A Worldwide Issue

Cases such as this are alarmingly common within correctional systems around the world. Expectant mothers are often subjected to appalling situations and deprived of proper healthcare. Some lose their pregnancies, others go into labour and give birth by themselves in a prison cell. Tragically, infants die behind bars.

"Governments think it’s a few of women so it’s not an issue, but that is incorrect," notes a legal advocate dedicated to female imprisonment.

"Prison is not a good place for women, especially not for someone who is pregnant," she adds. "There’s so much research that shows how damaging it is. Many facilities were constructed with men in mind, so women were an secondary consideration."

Ignored UN Rules

It has been 15 years since the adoption of the UN's Bangkok Rules for the treatment of incarcerated women. These guidelines specify that incarceration should be a last resort for expectant mothers and that non-custodial sentences should always be considered. Furthermore, they ban the use of shackles on women while giving birth.

But, these standards are routinely ignored around the world. "This is not considered a worldwide priority for women's rights," says the advocate. "It’s not visible, and there’s a lot of shame and stereotyping."

Critical Conditions in Packed Systems

In various regions, conditions for pregnant prisoners are reported to be "exceptionally severe". Contact with relatives have been banned, and rights groups are denied access. Interviews with formerly incarcerated women detail assaults, abuse, and being denied essential items. Reports indicate some are forced into trading sex with prison staff for food or medicine.

"We has documented pregnancy losses and the death of four babies … there will be more," says a rights defender.

Reports also indicate women who were shackled to medical beds during labour and delivered while watched by male prison guards.

Overcrowding and Its Effects

Statistics shows some countries as having the highest prison occupancy levels in the globe. Female inmates are especially at risk to these conditions. "There is seldom enough space to lie down properly," says a advocate. "There is a chronic lack of access to basic items."

Expectant inmates have been handcuffed to hospital beds prior to delivery. The environment for caring for an infant upon return in prison are alarming, as evidenced by cases of infants dying from illness and severe malnutrition in custody.

Accounts from Around the Globe

In Zambia, a former inmate recalls being in a cell with expectant mothers. Cell doors were locked overnight. If a woman went into labour at night, the women were left to manage on their own. "We would be pleading. Others were praying. Others were banging on the floor and the doors, screaming: ‘Please come, somebody’s in labour!’"

Such events also happen in more developed nations. In one case, a young woman lost her daughter after delivering unassisted in a cell. Her pleas for assistance went unanswered for hours, and she was forced to sever the cord herself.

From Experience to Advocacy

A number of survivors have chosen to use their experiences to drive reform. In the United States, a woman who lost her pregnancy in her cell set up an organisation. Her work has successfully pushed for laws that ban shackling and solitary confinement for pregnant inmates in multiple states.

A separate account comes from Argentina. A woman learned of her pregnancy after being given a prison term. During her delivery, officers shackled her legs to the hospital bed. Doctors performed a C-section. While still groggy, they offered to sterilize her. "Why would you want to have more children, if you’re a prisoner?" they asked.

"My ordeal was obstetric violence. It should not have occurred, but this is what women in prison go through," she stated. This trauma later informed provincial policies around childbirth in detention.

Potential Reforms

Other countries have implemented policies for pregnant women in the legal system. Among them are:

• Evaluating alternatives to detention for accused women who are primary caregivers, pregnant, or breastfeeding.
• Introducing home detention as an alternative to being held before trial, particularly for expectant mothers.
• Permitting the postponement of prison terms for women who are pregnant.

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

"Alternatives in the community that tackle the underlying reasons of women entering the legal system – for example, poverty, abuse and drugs – are truly what we should be investing in."