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A rights defender, at 35 weeks pregnant, was taken into custody near her home in early 2024. Accused with a broad allegation, she was jailed lacking proof. Weeks afterward, her relatives were contacted to retrieve the body of her newborn baby. The cause of death remains unexamined, and the family remains unaware the circumstances or if she received any care after birth.

A Global Issue

Cases such as this are far from uncommon within correctional systems globally. Expectant mothers are often held in deplorable conditions and not given medical attention. Some miscarry, others begin childbirth and give birth by themselves in a prison cell. Devastatingly, infants die in custody.

"Governments assume it’s a few of women so it’s not a problem, but that is a misconception," notes a legal advocate focused on female imprisonment.

"Incarceration is a harmful environment for women, let alone someone who is pregnant," she explains. "Extensive evidence that demonstrates how damaging it is. Numerous prisons were constructed with men in mind, so women were an afterthought."

Violated UN Rules

It has been 15 years since the adoption of international guidelines for the treatment of incarcerated women. This framework specify that incarceration should be a last resort for expectant mothers and that alternatives to detention should be the first choice. They also forbid the use of shackles on women while giving birth.

Yet, these guidelines are routinely ignored globally. "This isn’t seen as a worldwide gender-equality priority," says the expert. "It’s not visible, and there’s a lot of stigma and stereotyping."

Dire Situations in Overcrowded Prisons

In some countries, situations for expectant inmates are reported to be "exceptionally severe". Family visits have been banned, and rights groups are denied access. Accounts with ex-inmates detail beatings, abuse, and being deprived of basic supplies. Some resort to trading sex with guards for nourishment or medicine.

"We has documented pregnancy losses and the death of several infants … it is certain there are more," says a rights defender.

Accounts also tell of women who were shackled to hospital beds during labour and gave birth while watched by male officers.

Severe Overpopulation and Its Consequences

Data lists some nations as having the most severe prison occupancy levels in the globe. Women are especially at risk to these situations. "There is seldom enough space to fully lie down," says a human rights outreach director. "There exists a persistent lack of access to essentials."

Expectant inmates have been restrained to beds before giving birth. The environment for caring for an infant upon return in prison are worrying, as shown by reports of babies succumbing from illness and malnourishment in custody.

Accounts from Different Continents

In Zambia, a former inmate remembers being in a detention block with expectant mothers. Doors were secured overnight. When someone started giving birth at night, the women were forced to manage on their own. "We would be pleading. Others were asking for divine help. Others were banging on the ground and the doors, yelling: ‘Please come, somebody’s in labour!’"

These tragedies occur in wealthier nations. In one case, a young woman her baby died after giving birth unassisted in a cell. Her pleas for assistance went unanswered for hours, and she was forced to sever the umbilical cord herself.

Turning Trauma into Change

Some women have chosen to use their traumatic ordeals to instigate change. In the US, a woman who lost her pregnancy in her cell set up an advocacy group. Her work has successfully advocated for laws that ban restraints and isolation for expectant inmates in multiple states.

A separate account comes from South America. A woman discovered she was pregnant shortly after being given a prison term. When it came time to give birth, guards chained her legs to the hospital bed. Doctors performed a C-section. As she recovered, 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. What I experienced should never have happened, but this is what women in prison go through," she stated. Her experiences later shaped official guidelines around childbirth in detention.

Alternatives and Solutions

Some nations have introduced policies for pregnant women in the legal system. Among them are:

• Evaluating non-custodial options for defendants who are mothers, expecting, or breastfeeding.
• Introducing house arrest as an alternative to being held on remand, particularly for expectant mothers.
• Allowing for the deferral of sentences for women who are pregnant.

Experts and people with experience believe that, often, pregnant women ought not to be in prison at all. "I question whether women should be criminalised for numerous offenses in the first place," argues the expert.

"Alternatives in the community that address the underlying reasons of women coming into contact with the legal system – for example, poverty, abuse and substance issues – are truly what we should be focusing on."